Centre team set to review coronavirus preparedness

Mumbai: With 10 people quarantined in three hospitals across Maharashtra for possible exposure to the novel coronavirus, a central health ministry team is likely to visit the state to review preparedness for tackling the disease. There has been no confirmed case of coronavirus reported in the state so far. Meanwhile three patients suspected of testing positive for the virus were discharged from Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai.

According to a senior state health officer, a team of the central health department is likely to visit the city in the coming days as more and more cases of suspected novel coronavirus emerge. He said that the team will review preparedness for prevention and management of the disease. “The team will also give some critical inputs,” he added. The officer was talking to the media in Aurangabad. According to him, the number of suspected patients is likely to go up.

According to the statement issued by the state health minister Rajesh Tope’s office, three patients suspected of having contracted the virus in Mumbai were discharged Wednesday. The trio had been under treatment at the Kasturba Hospital in the city. They were discharged after they tested negative for coronavirus for the second time. Enquiries about these patients’ health will be made over the phone for the next 28 days. One more suspected coronavirus patient has been admitted to Naidu Hospital in Pune. Mr Tope said that no patient in the state had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Till Thursday, 4846 passengers were screened for coronavirus at the Mumbai International Airport. Twenty-seven patients were kept under observation. A total 10 patients were admitted to three different hospitals across the state. Thirteen samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology, out of which nine samples tested negative for novel coronavirus while the reports of four samples are awaited.