A 27-year-old man from Goa, who travelled to Italy and Finland last month and came in contact with a COVID-19 patient, has been kept at an isolation ward of a state-run hospital in Panaji after he complained of cough and fever, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Wednesday.
The man, a native of Vasco town in South Goa, was working on a ship and returned to the coastal state two days back, Rane said. “He had come in contact with a coronavirus patient mid-February while he was working on a ship,” the minister said in a statement.
He had cough and fever since the last two days after he returned, Rane said, adding that he has been kept at an isolation ward of the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) near here.
The man left for working on a ship in June last year and travelled to Finland and Italy last month, he said.
Earlier, samples of two foreign travellers who were kept under observation at GMCH for suspected novel coronavirus infection tested negative on Monday evening. They were subsequently discharged from the medical facility.
The state health department has kept 19 patients under home observation, as per the latest official information.
The Mormugao Port Trust in Goa has banned the entry of cruise vessels till March 31 in view of the novel coronavirus threat, a senior official earlier said.
