A patient suspected of COVID19 escaped from Chest Diseases Hospital here today. A doctor at the hospital said that the female patient, a resident of Srinagar, had returned from Saudi Arabia and had symptoms of flu. However, when doctors started the process of admission, she disappeared.
Dr Naveed Nazir Shah, in-charge of COVID19 response at thehospital said the district administration had been apprised about the suspectedcase. “We have sought help of administration to locate her,” he said.
Late evening, the patient was traced and sent to quarantinefacility. DC Srinagar tweeted, “Technical surveillance team traced the patientwho ran away. Returned to quarantine.”
He commended the team and expressed anguish over the actwhere the patient dodged the requirement for quarantine. “Such people shouldface culpable homicide charges,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, a woman who had recently returned from SaudiArabia died at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), withInstitute denying reports of the patient being COVID19 patient.
Last night the patient with breathing problem was brought toSKIMS where she expired past midnight. Medical superintendent SKIMS, Dr FarooqJan said the patient had no flu symptoms, however since she had travelled toSaudi Arabia recently, she was tested for COVID19. “Her report has come outnegative,” he said.
He added that the patient was “completely alright during theday but had developed cardiac distress in evening. “She was a known case ofcardiac illness,” he said. The patient, he asserted, did not die of COVID19 asper the test report,” he said.
He further said that three COVID19 suspect cases were seenat SKIMS on Saturday and their samples taken. One of these, he said, was acontact of COVID19 positive case from Srinagar.
At Government Medical College Srinagar, five samples testedfor COVID19 have tested negative, while no other suspected case was seen onSaturday.
3611 persons under observation in JK:
The Government today informed that 3611 travellers andpersons in contact with suspected cases have been put under surveillance and,so far, only four cases have tested positive in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the daily Media Bulletin on novel coronavirus(COVID-19) 2557 persons have been kept under home quarantine while as 50 are inhospital quarantine.
Persons who are under home surveillance stand at 584 whileas 420 persons have completed their 28-day surveillance period.
The Bulletin further said that 213 samples have been sentfor testing of which 205 tested as negative and only four cases have testedpositive so far, while as four reports are awaited till March 21, 2020.
Meanwhile, a 24×7 toll-free national helpline number 1075has been activated for support, guidance, and response to health relatedqueries on novel coronavirus disease. The government of Jammu and Kashmir hasalso set up helpline numbers in this regard: 0191-2549676 (UT level Cell forJ&K), 0191-2520982 (Jammu Division), 0194-2440283 and 0194-2430581 (KashmirDivision).
The government has directed that home quarantine ismandatory for anybody having travel history to Novel Coronavirus affectedcountries/ areas in order to contain the spread of the disease. All thetravellers who have arrived from Covid-19 affected countries/ areas and havenot declared their travel history so far have been appealed to necessarilyreport to local health authorities/ Covid helpline and undergo self-imposedhome quarantine for a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival.