While there was relief as three of the Covid-19 patients were discharged from the AIIMS, Raipur on the other, two more persons from Katghora that has emerged as a hotspot of the infectious disease, tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
Officials at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, said that after testing negative for two consecutive tests, three of the patients admitted at the hospital, were discharged on Tuesday evening.
Officials further said that all the three were from Katghora and with their discharge from the hospital, the number of active cases in Chhattisgarh has now reduced to 20.
Two fresh coronavirus (Covid-19) positive cases were reported in Katghora town of Korba district, health officials said here on Tuesday.
Notably, Katghora, located around 200 km from the state capital Raipur, has emerged as the Covid-19 hotspot in Chhattisgarh with 24 confirmed cases reported there until now.
“Two persons, including a woman from Purani basti neighbourhood of the town, tested positive for coronavirus,” Director AIIMS, Nitin M Nagar confirmed.
They are from the same area where until now 21 people came in contact with the 16 people linked to Tablighi Jamaat who were staying at a mosque in the locality, and have tested positive for the infection, Katghora's sub-divisional magistrate Suryakiran Tiwari said.
“The two are being shifted to the AIIMS Raipur,” she said.
The town has been sealed off and swab samples of all the people residing in the affected neighbourhood are being taken for testing, she said.
A 16-year-old boy from the 16-member group of people linked to Tablighi Jamaat , staying in the mosque at Purani Basti, had tested positive for coronavirus on April 4, after which 21 other people from the same neighbourhood, tested positive in the last one week.
According to the police, people of the neighbourhood had offered prayers and held a mass feast with the group of people linked to Tablighi Jamaat that reached Katghora from Maharashtra last month.
Until now, 10 people from the state have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the infection, they said.
With the two fresh cases, the tally of active cases in Chhattisgarh has gone up to 23, officials said.