Nagpur: There is very little chance of city's first suspected patient of mutated variant of Covid-19 coming positive. Municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B said swab samples of his family members and other suspected patients sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) are more likely to come positive.
The 28-year-old youth from Nandanwan, who returned from UK on December 2 and tested positive for novel coronavirus on December 15, was admitted as first suspected patient of new strain. His swab samples collected on December 23 tested negative on December 24. His samples were also sent to NIV for genome sequencing on December 25.
Radhakrishnan said in a press conference on Friday regarding dry run for Covid-19 Vaccination Programme, “I am not scientist. But let’s assume the same was negative. Genome sequencing will clarify whether the virus is old, new or whatever strain. If there is no virus in sample, my understanding is that it will give no results. Still, we sent sample as per SoPs of the government. Let us wait for the NIV reports. We also sent samples of his four family members who tested positive. Samples of five more suspected patients were also sent.”
Results were likely to be received from NIV on Friday, but did not come. Radhakrishnan said NMC was following up daily with NIV for the results.
Till now, eight UK returnees have tested positive in city and all are admitted in GMCH's special ward. Five suspected patients are from the list of 131 flyers sent by Bureau of Immigration. Of remaining three, two were residents of city and their names featured in list of Janjgir in Chhattisgarh. Third one is also city's resident and tested on his own and revealed his travel history of UK.
Among 131 flyers who returned from countries in Europe, Middle East and South Africa between November 25 and December 23, tests of 97 were conducted and remaining are pending.
On dry run for vaccination programme, Radhakrishnan said, “It will be conducted by NMC at its KT Nagar UPHC. Office of Civil Surgeon will conduct it at Daga Hospital and concerned authority at Kamptee Rural Hospital on January 2. Actual vaccination will be conducted jointly by all agencies, with 56 vaccination centres finalized. Some 31,014 health care workers have registered for phase-I.”
The civic chief said the dry run will be conducted at KT Nagar UPHC between 9am and 11am with 25 NMC health care workers. They have been asked to come to centre in batches of five at intervals of 30 minutes. Three rooms, systems and staff have been prepared. Radhakrishnan said vaccine will not be administered in the dry run.
On storage of vaccine, Radhakrishnan said there would be no problems. “Government is yet to send guidelines.”
On starting of schools for Std IX to XII from January 4 in city, additional municipal commissioner Ram Joshi said RT-PCR negative reports are mandatory for all teaching and non-teaching staff. “We have allowed testing at NMC centres. Also, we are sending mobile testing centres to schools. Some 16,000 parents have given consent. Over 3,300 of total 8,000 teaching and non-teaching staff got tested,” he said.
Additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Nipane said no more old returnees from these particular countries tested positive on Friday. “Eleven of total 24 new flyers who were in quarantine centres were discharged as they tested negative and also completed one week,” he said.