West Bengal: 9-month-old among 5 from Nadia test nCoV+ after return from Delhi

KOLKATA: A nine-month-old girl, her 6-year-old sister, their mother (27), an 11-year-old boy and his mother (45)—all belonging to the same family— tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, pushing up the total number of cases in Bengal from 10 to 15.
Currently in an isolation facility in Nadia—their ancestral home is in Tehatta—all the patients are being brought to ID Hospital in Beliaghata.
The five returned to Tehatta on March 20 from Delhi. There, they had stayed with a close relative, who had returned from the UK on March 16. While on their return journey by Rajdhani Express, they received the news that their UK-returnee relative in Delhi had tested positive for Covid-19. A local source said the group reached Sealdah, from where they boarded Lalgola Passenger to Bethuadahari. From there, they reportedly took an auto home. “The five who have tested positive have all been in contact with a Covid-19 patient. So, the source is known,” said a health department official. The three family members who tested negative would still be kept in hospital isolation, he said.

Director of Health Services (DHS) Ajay Chakraborty said, “The UK-returnee relative in Delhi, who is now being treated for Covid-19, is the five’s close contact. On reaching Kolkata on March 20, the group proceeded to Tehatta. Thirteen of them visited the fever clinic at the government hospital in Tehatta. Everyone was immediately kept in isolation and samples of eight, who showed symptoms, were sent for test. Five turned out to be positive.” The Nadia district administration declined to comment, saying they were waiting for instructions from the state health department.
According to a source, around 30 family members had gathered in Delhi on March 16 to welcome their relative from the UK. The two girls’ father, who is posted in Uttarakhand, returned to their home there, though the rest decided to visit their ancestral home in Tehatta. The 11-year-old and his family live in Delhi; but the mother-son duo also took the Rajdhani to go to Tehatta.
The nine-month-old girl was probably the second-youngest Covid-19 patient in India, an eight-month-old girl from Jammu and Kashmir assumed to be the first, a state official said, adding that treating the child might be a challenge as she being less than five-year-old has a weaker immunity system than the others.
This coincided with the condition of the 66-year-old Covid-19 patient in the city deteriorating further on Friday. The Nayabad resident has been on ventilation from Thursday night. Doctors said he had developed lung problems, which was not a positive sign. “Covid-19-induced pneumonia has set in. It is a matter of concern. The patient continues to be in critical condition and is on life support,” said Sudipta Mitra of Peerless Hospital, where the elderly man is admitted.
The patient had been on oxygen support since March 23, the day he was admitted to the hospital. As his oxygen saturation level kept dipping despite the support, the doctors put him on ventilation on Friday night. The patient has been on anti-retroviral drugs from Friday, hours after he tested positive. “Best efforts are on to save him. In addition to the anti-retroviral drugs, other supportive medicines are also being administered,” said Mitra.
The conditions of all the other eight Covid-19 patients being treated at ID Hospital are stable, none requiring any breathing assistance.
“All the patients are doing fine. But there is a little bit of concern with one patient who has co-morbid conditions,” said Anima Biswas, principal at ID Hospital Beliaghata. Sources in the hospital said that patient with co-morbidity is a 58-year-old who is diabetic and suffers from hypertension.