Six persons from the state were among the 324 Ind airlifted from China on Sunday to Delhi. They include three from Khargone, one from Mandideep on the outskirts of Bhopal and one from Mandsaur. All of them have been quarantined in Delhi.
Health Minister Tulsi Silavat said 19 persons in the state including these six have been kept under watch for suspected infection. Some of them had travelled to China and some others came in contact with the travelling public. Apart from the six suspects kept in Delhi, samples of 10 others were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune for examination. Of these, eight have tested negative and cleared while reports of two suspects are awaited.
The Minister has cautioned the Health Department officials against any laxity about dealing with the suspected cases.
The minister announced formation of district-level task forces headed by the collector and civil surgeons to deal with the cases. A toll-free phone number - 104 has been issued for public to report matters concerning the virus.
Chief minister Kamal Nath has also tweeted that the persons from the state who have been brought to India have not been reported positive for viral cases.
He spoke to the Nursing Home Association and other organizations of doctors at Indore on Monday evening and asked them to offer suggestions to provide better services in dealing with any suspected case.
Special wards of 2 to 5 beds in every district hospitals and 10 beds in a medical college have been set apart for dealing with any emergency in Madhya Pradesh.
A patient from Chhatarpur who had visited the district hospital was discharged with a precautionary advice to maintain self-isolation for three days. Earlier, he was reported to have escaped from the hospital. The authorities scotched the rumours. No one has so far been reported positive after tests, said the health authorities.
Another student from Jabalpur was also discharged from the hospital last week when he reported for a check-up since he had been in China recently. The minister said there was no cause for worry as the patients have been thoroughly examined before being discharged. As a precaution they have been asked to stay in isolation for three days.
( With inputs from IANS )