Panaji: An additional 19 UK returnees and their contacts, who were isolated at the ESI hospital, Margao, tested negative for the new strain of Covid-19. They were discharged on Tuesday after their reports were received from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.
The last admission at ESI hospital was on Monday night of a Covid-19 positive UK returnee from North Goa.
There are presently 29 UK returnees and their contacts under isolation at ESI hospital who are awaiting their reports from NIV Pune. A total of 34 travellers and their contacts have been discharged till date after they were not found to be carrying the new strain of coronavirus.
Of the 979 UK returnees who arrived in the state since December 9, a total of 63 were isolated at ESI hospital.
Health minister Vishwajit Rane had last week said that there has been a lot of pressure to discharge those at ESI hospital on home isolation. “These patients will be in ESI hospital till all results are received.There’s no question of any minister or MLA calling to get a patient discharged,” he had said.
The ESI hospital at present only has the UK returnees and their contacts who tested positive for Covid-19, who are being accommodated on two floors of the hospital. During the peak of the pandemic, five floors of the hospital were being used to accommodate the patients.
Other Covid positive patients who require hospitalisation are admitted to South Goa district hospital and Goa Medical College, Bambolim.