Uttarakhand reports second case of suspected coronavirus

DEHRADUN: Another case of suspected coronavirus, the second in the state in less than a week’s time, was reported at All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh on Monday. The patient, a female medical student studying in China, had returned to her home in Rishikesh on January 1, and had visited AIIMS with complaints of symptoms similar to that of coronavirus, after which she was admitted in the isolation ward of the hospital.
Harish Thapliyal, PRO, AIIMS Rishikesh told TOI that the patient, who is 24 years old, had visited the ENT (Ear Nose Throat) department of the hospital on Monday with complaints of mild discomfort in her throat, dry cough and headache for the past one week.“We found that she was interning at a university of traditional Chinese medicine located in the Nongchang state around 650km away from Wuhan City. During her stay in China before she left for India, she had developed the symptoms although there was no fever or breathing difficulty,” he said.
“We have admitted the patient to our isolation ward and sent samples for coronavirus testing. Her condition is currently stable,” said Thapliyal adding that the other patient, a 21-year-old medical student, who was also studying in China and had been brought to AIIMS last week with symptoms of suspected coronavirus was discharged on Monday after she was eventually diagnosed with influenza.
Meanwhile, officials of the health department said that they are conducting continuous review meetings on the deadly virus, which has cost over 200 lives and created a global scare.
“The private hospitals have been informed about the protocol they are supposed to follow in coronavirus case. They have to inform the health department and government immediately in case of suspected cases and the patient should be kept in isolation,” said Pankaj Kumar Pandey, in-charge secretary health who added that anyone who is suffering from cough, cold, respiratory issues etc and has visited China after January 15 should be treated as a high-priority case.