Six Mohali residents test negative for coronavirus

Tribune News Service

Mohali, February 4

Six Mohali residents, who had a travel history of China and were put under medical observation, have tested negative for the deadly coronavirus.

Mohali Civil Surgeon Dr Manjit said the samples of these suspected patients were taken on February 1. The report had arrived from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. Of these six suspected patients, two were students and all of them had visited China after January 15.

“After taking the samples, the district Health Department had advised them to isolate themselves at home as a precautionary measure. A medical team was regularly monitoring their health since then,” said Dr Manjit.

He said test reports of four more Mohali residents, who had gone to China on a business tour after January 15 and had returned after staying there for seven days, were yet to come.

Meanwhile, a medical team of the district hospital screened a total of 185 passengers of Air India Express flight from Sharjah at the airport here on Tuesday.

District Epidemiologist Dr Harmandeep Kaur, who led the medical team, said all passengers were screened for symptoms of the disease. No one was found to be having symptoms of severe fever, cough, shortness of breath, diarrhoea and congestion in nose and throat. No passenger was found who had travelled to China in the past few days or had contact with any person returning from China.

She said a help desk for passengers of domestic flights had been setup at the airport where passengers desirous of getting medical check-up need to fill up a form about their China travel history, if any. Then, the medical team would perform screening and also sensitise them to the symptoms of coronavirus and precautions.

About coronavirus

It can make people sick, usually with a mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness, similar to a common cold.

How it spreads

Human coronaviruses most commonly spread from an infected person to others through the air by coughing and sneezing; close personal contact such as touching or shaking hands; touching an object or surface with the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands; and rarely, fecal contamination.

Symptoms

Runny nose
Sore throat
Headache
Fever
Cough

Prevention

• Avoid shaking hands, hugging and kissing on the cheeks
• Follow cough etiquette and maintain proper hygeine
• Washing your hands often with soap and water
• Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands