A Chinese national who vomited while flying from Delhi to Pune in an Air India flight is among the five people placed under isolation in Maharashtra on Friday due to suspected exposure to the novel Coronavirus (nCoV). While the Chinese national and two others have been admitted to Naidu Hospital, Pune, one patient has been admitted to District Hospital in Ahmednagar and another one in District Hospital, Jalgaon.
According to State’s epidemiologist Dr. Pradeep Awate, the Chinese national has no other symptoms like fever, sore throat or cold. “Samples of all the patients have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune and their reports are awaited,” said Dr .Awate.
Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said the “unwell” passenger was de-boarded and admitted to hospital in Pune. The aircraft which was scheduled to return to Delhi, was delayed by over four hours after passengers and the flight crew raised concern due to the nCoV scare. The flight was sanitised thoroughly.
Dr. Ramchandra Hankare, who heads the Pune Municipal Corporation’s health department, said the Chinese national had landed in India from Bangkok late last month
“He displayed symptoms like cold and cough. We have sent his throat swab samples to the NIV and are awaiting the report,” he said.
According to Dr. Hankare, prior to boarding the flight for Pune, the patient arrived in India on January 29, following which he made a number of trips to the cities in the East including Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar before reaching New Delhi on January 5.
DON’T DISCRIMINATE
State health officials on Friday said they have come across a few cases of discrimination against those who have a travel history to China and some other regions.
“We have come across a few cases wherein employees who have a travel history were not allowed to join back work unless they get a medical report. Some people have been inquiring at various hospitals and the NIV, Pune urging authorities to test their samples so that they can take the report to their employers,” said Dr Awate. People with travel history to affected regions are advised to be at home for 14 days.
The State officials follow up with all travellers from Maharashtra up to the 14-day period. “Employers should therefore not make unreasonable demands,” said Dr Awate. He said that the State helpline has received a few calls from employers inquiring about medical records of the employees. “We had encountered a similar situation during the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala,” he said.
( With inputs from Aditya Anand and Shoumojit Baneerjee )
