Covid-19 suspect gives birth, nursing home sealed in East Midnapore

Biswabrata Goswami

Statesman News Service

MIDNAPORE, 22 APRIL: A private nursing home at Contai in East Midnapore has been sealed over the suspicion that a woman, who gave birth to a baby, might have been infected by a novel coronavirus.

The district health department authorities have asked all the doctors, nurses and health staff attached to the nursing home to go into home quarantine for observation. Other patients admitted in the nursing home have been shifted to other health institutions, a senior district health official said.

The health official also said that they have asked the family members of the patient to stay themselves in home quarantine for the next fourteen days as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the dreaded virus in the locality.

According to a nursing home authority, the woman was admitted in the nursing home with labour pain recently. She gave birth to a male baby on Sunday. But, her condition started deteriorating as she was suffering from fever and breathing disorder. The doctors who were examining the patient suspected that she might have the novel coronavirus. They immediately informed the matter to the district health authority who immediately sent the patient to an isolation center and sealed off the nursing home.

Last Saturday, the woman had been admitted in the Contai sub-divisional hospital with fever and breathing problem. The hospital doctors after examining the patient suspected her of suffering from novel coronavirus and referred her to NRS hospital in Kolkata. 

But hiding this, the patient's family admitted her to the nursing home in Contai where she gave birth to a baby on Sunday, said Dr Sabyasachi Chakraborty, superintendent of Contai sub-divisional hospital adding that swab sample of the woman has been sent to the Midnapore Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) for test.

The incident comes at a time when the state government has made it clear that the state’s sensitive zones, which have seen the highest number of Covid-19 cases, will see stricter norms and urged people to follow them.

East Midnapore district has been identified as a high risk zone and a fresh positive case was reported on 19 April.. This apart, Egra and Haldia have been regarded as the most sensitive zones. Most of the positive cases were reported from these two areas. Though no positive case has been reported from Contai yet, local residents are worried about the possible spread of the virus.

Courtesy: Image from Outlook India.