The Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) has asked a private doctor to shut his hospital on learning that the doctor’s daughter has just returned from the U.S. and is home-quarantined.
On Monday, the PMC issued a notice to Dr. Mahesh Mohite, who runs Sai Child Care Hospital at Sector 19 , to shut his hospital till further orders.
As per a notice issued on March 27 by the district collector and the district magistrate to the Indian Medical Association, any doctor who has a member in the family who has returned from an international trip and is home-quarantined, should also stay home-quarantined.
“The doctor’s daughter had returned from the U.S. on March 16 and was home-quarantined, of which he did not inform the PMC. In the information that we received from the immigration department, we learnt about his daughter who was home-quarantined,” said PMC deputy municipal commissioner Sanjay Shinde.
As per the rules, if doctor has a home-quarantined family member with whom he is in touch, he too should be home-quarantined and should not come in contact with anyone else, he said. “He had not informed us about his daughter and continued to treat his patients even after coming in contact with his daughter.”
Dr. Mohite, a paediatrician, had 12 patients in his hospital who continue to be in the hospital with staff. “We have asked the patients to be discharged one by one and said no new patients should be admitted. The doctor is home quarantined and we are keeping a watch on his staff,” Mr. Shinde said. The PMC will collect data of his patients and family members who visited the hospital and keep tabs on them too, he said.
The notice had mentioned that if he did not shut the hospital till further orders, his licence would be cancelled for a year.
Under the PMC jurisdiction, the total number of passengers screened is 585, the home-quarantined is at 153, while seven are quarantined at Gram Vikas Bhavan in Kharghar.
Altogether 423 travellers have completed 14 days in quarantine, while 51 people have been referred to Kasturba Hospital.
At least three people have tested positive so far, 26 have tested negative, while eight reports are awaited.
