Raj to screen all in contact with suspected Covid-19 patient

Jaipur, March 3 Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma on Tuesday issued directions for special vigilance across the state, in view of the detection of an Italian tourist who is a suspected coronavirus patient here and said that people who came in contact with him will be screened.

Sharma instructed the Rapid Response Team of the Medical Education and Health Department be sent to various places visited by the suspected patient in the state, and ensure screening of all people who have come in contact with him.

A 20-member group of Italian tourists had reached Jaipur on February 28 via Mandawa, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Udaipur, and a 69-year-old group member was admitted to a local private hospital the same after he fell ill. He was referred to SMS hospital the next day. While his initial tests for coronavirus were negative, they came out positive on Monday and samples were sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune for confirmation.

Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Education and Health, Rohit Kumar Singh further issued an order directing the formation of Rapid Response Team at the level of all medical colleges for the control of coronavirus in the state. These teams include senior professors and epidemiologists from PSM, Medicine, Microbiology and Paediatrician Departments.

The Rapid Response teams will inspect the hotels and excursions where the patient stayed in Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Mandawa (Jhunjhunu) and Jaisalmer and the necessary action shall be carried out as per the protocol. Medical check up will be done for the people who come in contact with him at government institutions in the area. A sample of the persons concerned will be taken for investigation in case of any suspicion.

Along with this initiatives, steps shall be taken to disinfect the places of his stay and other places where he visited.

All activities will be carried out by the Rapid Response Teams through the Chief Medical and Health Officer by preparing an Epidemic Investigation and Contact Tracing Plan, he added.

( With inputs from IANS )