Amid scare of Coronavirus and occasional reports about presence of suspected patients of the novel and dreaded disease, no patient has so far been found positive for the disease in Uttarakhand.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh has so far sent seven blood samples of suspected patients to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and none of the sample has been found positive for the disease.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of AIIMS, Rishikesh, Prakash Thapliyal said that no patient has so far been found suffering from the disease. He added that the institute is fully equipped to treat the patients of the disease.
In the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) hospital, which the biggest hospital in the State in Government sector, 29 beds have been kept reserved in the isolation ward. Similar isolation wards have been set in different hospitals.
Following the advisory issued by the Union Government, the State health department is kept in state of alert. The teams of the department are keeping watch over all transit points on the India- Nepal border and on the airports. Special alert is sounded along the border areas with Nepal because one case of Coronavirus has been reported from that country.
The symptoms of the Coronavirus include incessant fever, cough, irritation in throat, difficulty in breathing and pneumonia. The first infections were detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan and traced back to a wild animal and fish market. The virus is now spreading through human to human contact.
The medical experts advice that people should cover their mouth and face while sneezing and should wash their hands and face regularly to prevent spread of the disease. They opine that people should avoid crowded places and refrain from shaking hands with others and those suffering from fever and cough should immediately take medical advice. Increasing temperature to reduce chances of infection.