Pune: 50-year-old woman dies hours after testing positive for COVID-19; 11 patients recover

“We directly admitted her to the Intensive Care Unit and she was put under observation. Her throat swab tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. But by 8 pm, she had passed away. She did not have any co-morbid conditions and was not on ventilator support,” said Dr Ajay Chandanwale, dean of the BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital.

Earlier, a 52-year old man had died at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital on Monday in the city’s first death from COVID-19.

Dr Chandanwale said the body of the woman would be wrapped in a leak-proof plastic bag as per protocol and her relatives would be counselled to restrict the number of people attending the funeral in order to minimise the risks of infection.

Meanwhile, nine more positive cases were detected in the city. Four of them, two each in the twin cities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, were those who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat meeting in Delhi last month.

Thirty nine of the 60 positive cases have so far been reported from Pune municipal limits, while 14 have come from Pimpri-Chinchwad. The remaining seven are from rural areas.

The fresh cases in Pimpri-Chinchwad, both Tablighis, are the first ones to have tested positive in the area in the last 11 days. A total of 136 people in Pune were identified as those having attended the Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi. Seventy two of them were traced and tested. Twenty three of them were in Pimpri-Chinchwad area.

“Of the 23 throat swab samples which were sent to NIV for testing, 21 have tested negative, while two are positive,” Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar said about the fresh cases in his area. Incidentally, the two had been under home quarantine since March 22.

“Both of them had attended the meeting in New Delhi after returning from foreign countries. When we had made an appeal to citizens asking them to inform us about their travel histories, these two people had come forward and told us about their foreign trips. Therefore, we had put them under home quarantine,” Hardikar said.

The two have now been admitted to the civic-run Yeshwantrao Chavan Memorial hospital in Sant Tukaram Nagar. (ENS)

21-year-old student who fought COVID-19 & pneumonia recovers, discharged from PCMC hospital

The 11th “coronavirus-free” patient in Pimpri-Chichwad, a 21-year-old student, was discharged from civic-run YCM Hospital on Thursday.

“The patient had developed breathing problems and subsequently developed pneumonia… but through proper medication as per government protocal, the patient recovered and was discharged on Thursday,” said Dr Rajendra Wable, in-charge of YCM Hospital.

But of the 12 coronavirus patients admitted till Thursday in the civic hospital, the student was the only one who had developed pneumonia, which leads to serious complications, doctors said.

The 21-year-old student had returned from a foreign country on March 17. Upon arrival, he immediately came to YCM Hospital, where his throat swab samples were collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology, and found to be positive. He was initially admitted to Bhosari Hospital, but shifted to YCMH a few days later when he developed respiratory problems.

“Subsequently, we detected a patch of pneumonia. He was then put on medication as per the protocol for such patients,” said Dr Wable. “…The patient was stable and did not require ventilator support”.

While all other patiens had to undergo two tests, three tests were conducted on this particular patient. “…After the first two tests were negative, the patient still did not look completely comfortable. Therefore, we conducted the third test which was also negative,” said Dr Wable.

The student told The Indian Express he was studying medicine abroad. “When I landed in Pimpri-Chinchwad, I had fever and therefore I went to YCM Hospital, where my throat swab sample was collected and sent to the NIV,” he said.

The student said initally, he was scared. “When my test reports were positive I was worried, as any patient would have been. I had mild symptoms initially. Then I developed pneumonia but soon my condition stablised through proper medication,” he said.

During his hospital stay, the student spent most of his time on social media. However, unlike some other patients who put their pictures and videos on social media, he avoided doing anything like that. “Only a couple of my friends knew about my condition and they were very supportive…I spent my time on social media. With the help of the medical staff and positive approach, I overcome the difficult phase,” he said.

Thanking the medical staff at YCMH, the student appreciated the moral support and treatment the staff extended to him. “Thank you for taking care of me and helping me overcome this challenge,” he told the medical staff after being discharged.

He has been told to spend the next 14 days in home qurantine and get in touch with the hospital if he develops any medical problems.

Till Wednesday, Pimpri-Chinchwad had 12 positive patients,of whom, 11 have been discharged by Thursday. On Thursday, two more COVID-19 cases related to those who attended the Nizamuddin Markaz surfaced.

The Pimpri-Chinchwas Municipal Corporation has so far home qurantined over 1,500 persons, mostly those who had returned from foreign countries and their high-risk contacts.

On their way to Mumbai from Osmanabad in violation of home quarantine, 16 family members caught by Pune cops

AS many as 16 members from a family in Mumbai, who were ordered to remain in home quarantine in Osmanabad district, were caught in Pune while heading for Mumbai on Wednesday. They have now been quarantined in a government facility in Vadgaon Maval in Pune.

Officials from Pune Rural Police said three men, four women and nine children from a family in Andheri East had gone to Umarga taluka in Osmanabad district to attend a funeral few days ago. On Tuesday, when local authorities in Osmanabad got to know that they are from Mumbai, they were ordered to remain in home quarantine and were also stamped accordingly on the hands.

An officer from Pune Rural Oolice said, “On Wednesday, one of our teams at a check post in Vadgaon Maval on Pune-Mumbai Highway stopped their SUV for routine inquiry and found that they had stamps on their hands. The driver of the SUV, who is also a member of the family, has been booked for disobeying the public order of lockdown and home quarantine. They have now been quarantined at a government facility in Vadgaon Maval. None of them showed any symptoms. We are now probing how they managed to get pass the district borders of Osmanabad, Solapur and Pune “