Coronavirus Scare: Suspected Cases Go Up To 5 In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: Amid claiming 259 lives and affecting as many as 11,791 others in China, five suspected cases of the deadly novel Coronavirus has so far been reported in Odisha.

According to sources, apart from a 21-year-old China-returning medical student from Phulbani who was shifted to the isolation ward of the special Coronavirus ward at SCB Medical College and Hospital yesterday, four other suspected patients have been kept under medical observation in their houses following reportage of various symptoms of the deadly virus:

Various samples have been collected from the five suspected patients and sent for laboratory test in Pune. The test report is expected to arrive in 3-4 days which will confirm whether they are afflicted by the deadly virus on not.

However, the MBBS student believed that he has not been afflicted by the virus. “As you can see, I am completely normal. I was suffering from common cold which might have caused due to weather change,” said the medico.

Speaking about the treatment of the student, SCB emergency officer Bhubanananda Maharana said, “His health condition is stable. He has been kept in isolation in the Coronavirus suspect ward.”

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy today reviewed the preparedness to deal with Coronavirus cases through video conferencing.

Notably, as China continued to struggle amid outbreak of the virus, nationals of various countries have started vacating Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak. India and several other countries have stepped evacuating their nationals stranded in Hubei province. Today, 324 Indian nationals were brought to Delhi in a special Air India flight.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Delhi has arranged a 600 beds camp on its campus for medical observation of Indians arriving in the special flight from China.

AP Joshi, chief medical officer of ITBP, said, “We have doctors from various CRPF camps. They will be deployed here for at least 14 days as per protocol. And the period may be extended to another 15 days.”