HYDERABAD: Four people from Hyderabad were kept under observation in the Coronavirus (nCoV) isolation ward of Fever Hospital on Monday, but were discharged later in the day.
However, they will be under observation at their respective homes. This brings the total number of people under observation at their homes in Telangana to 12, including eight who were kept under observation last week.
The four included three who returned recently from their trip to China and wife of one of them. Swab samples of one of the three persons was sent for suspected Coronavirus testing to National Institute of Virology, Pune, where it tested negative.
To tackle any outbreak of Coronavirus, the State is planning to set aside 100 beds for isolation wards in three top government hospitals in the city.
Speaking to Express, Dr K Shankar, superintendent of Fever Hospital, said, "Three of the patients who were under observation had travelled back from China, and one other is the wife of one of these tourists. Due to contact with her husband, she also approached the hospital to be kept under observation. Symptoms were noted in only one of these patients whose test samples had been sent. The patients were admitted on Saturday morning and the samples were sent on Saturday night, results of which are negative. All four of them are under supervision in their respective homes."
He added, "All the four people approached the hospital on their own, owing to their travel history and the precautionary steps suggested by the health ministry. They had cleared the airport’s thermal screening, as they did not have any symptoms." Additionally, Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Shanthi Kumari, and others interacted with the team of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in New Delhi, via video conference on Monday morning.
Dr Shankar further added, "To tackle any possible, albeit unlikely, outbreak of the Coronavirus epidemic in the state, 40 beds have been set aside in three isolation wards in Fever Hospital and 20 beds in Chest Hospital. We are planning to provide 100 beds in isolation wards across the city to keep ourselves prepared."
Additionally, Dr Shravan Kumar, superintendent of Gandhi Hospital confirmed that 10 beds have been kept aside as an isolation ward in Gandhi Hospital as well to treat or observe any suspected cases of the novel virus. However, the other multidisciplinary team that was supposed to visit RGIA Airport, Fever Hospital and Gandhi Hospital, was unable to inspect as their flight was delayed.