Kolkata, March 8 (IANS) A suspected Coronavirus patient, who returned from Saudi Arabia, died in the government Medical College in West Bengal”s Murshidabad district on Sunday, a senior official said.
Two other suspected Conoravirus patients were admitted in the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Beliaghat here during the day. One of them, also a resident of Murshidabad, had returned from Saudi Arabia during the day and was diagnosed with fever during thermal screening at the NSCBI airport.
The ailing youth at the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital breathed his last early evening on Sunday.
The 33-year-old, a resident of Nabagram, fell sick while returning home on Saturday after flying to the NSCBI Airport here earlier in the day from Saudi Arabia, where he used to work as a cleaner.
As he was running a fever, and complained of respiratory distress, his family members took him to the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital in Bahrampur on Sunday where the doctors admitted him at an isolation ward after a preliminary check-up.
“One of the doctors who examined him felt it is a suspected case of coronavirus. So we admitted him considering the symptoms and the fact that he has returned from abroad. But he also had uncontrolled blood sugar, which could have also caused his death,” Hospital Medical Superintendent cum Vice Principal Debdas Saha told IANS over phone.
His throat swab sample was collected and sent to National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), but he passed away before the report could arrive.
“It takes at least a day to get the report. So, there was no way we could get it today,” said the hospital official.
US-returned teenager under watch for coronavirus in Chennai
A 15-year old boy, who arrived here from the US along with his parents, has been taken to the government hospital after he had shown symptoms of coronavirus infection, a senior Tamil Nadu Health Department official said.
“The boy, aged 15 years, had landed at Chennai airport on Sunday morning. During the screening, he had shown symptoms of coronavirus infection. He was taken to the government hospital where his blood samples have been taken for tests,” he told IANS.
According to the official, the test results will be available on Monday.
Examine spread of virus via currency notes: CAIT to FM
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) here on Sunday wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the possibility of spread of coronavirus through currency notes and urged her to take the required steps.
It also urged the government to introduce policies for promoting alternative modes of payment and look at the possibilities of using polymer notes.
“Various credible studies have revealed that currency notes carry major risk of containing various virus, which may lead to number of infectious diseases. In the wake of coronavirus and for other precautionary reasons, we request you to order ”a larger investigation” to assess the chances of diseases spreading via notes,” said CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal.
Although due precautions had been taken, avoidance of cash usage couldn”t be avoided and thus could become one of the most easiest carriers for spread of virus. “Immediate steps should be taken to check spread of a virus through notes,” it said.
