A 38-year old resident of Munger in Bihar who died on 21 March and had tested positive for Wuhan Coronavirus has found to be infected two members of his family and two employees of the private hospital in Patna where he was being treated. And now it is suspected that a large number of people are in danger of contracting the Covid-19 who had come into contact with the two employees and his family members, and a chain of community transmission may have been triggered.
The hospital employees- ward boy and the lab technician behaved irresponsibly after coming in contact with the COVID-19 positive patients, and endangered many people, according to a report.
The lab technician is said to have come in contact with around 50 people at multiple locations whereas the ward boy also attended a wedding in Patna where at least 80 people were present.
Among these 130 people, 110 people have been placed under isolation, 44 in Patna and 66 in Munger, while efforts are on to identify and monitor others who may have come into contact with the COVID-19 infected persons.
Doctors, nurses and other staff working at Sharnam hospital are also under isolation. The hospital hasn’t reported any COVID-19 case after that. Moreover, other family members and relatives of the man are also in danger as AIIMS Patna, where the man had died, had handed over the body to the family for his last rites.
The man from Munger who got infected by a novel coronavirus in Qatar and died on March 21 at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, has clearly left behind a trail of infections in Patna and Munger districts.
A doctor in Patna said, “the four cases of COVID-19 in Bihar are indicative of the community transmission of the virus, which is a reason enough for the officials to step up the quarantine measures.” There is a possibility of the number of cases may boost up.
The deceased was first admitted to a private hospital in Munger and later shifted to Sharnam Hospital in Patna. He was later brought to AIIMS, Patna, on March 20 when his health worsened. Because he was already suffering from chronic kidney disease, he was put on dialysis at AIIMS. The AIIMS staff noticed that he had severe respiratory distress.
As he had a history of overseas travel, the AIIMS authorities sent his samples for test on March 20, the day he was admitted.
The hospital released his body when he died on March 21 before the last reports arrived which later confirmed him as the first case of COVID-19 in the state of Bihar. The family had taken the body to Munger for the last rites.
After the carelessness of the two employees of the private hospital, the staff of AIIMS also showed carelessness as they released the body before the arrival of his test reports, potentially endangering the health and life of the family members of the deceased.
