Published on March 20, 2020
AHMEDABAD: Health authorities in Ahmedabad went on an overdrive on Thursday after a young girl, who had returned from the US two days ago, and belongs to Satellite area was suspected to be Covid-19 positive. Her blood samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for final verification and the results are expected on Friday.
On Thursday, orders were issued by the state health authorities to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) health officials for contact-tracing of the suspected positive case. A senior state health official told TOI that the girl is very co-operative and had responsibly observed home quarantine. “We checked her contact history and the girl had shown discipline. She has been moved to an isolation ward and her condition is being monitored closely,” said the official.
Meanwhile, the state government has decided to crack the whip on persons reportedly flouting home quarantine rules and meeting people over the past couple of days. State health department officials said it has been decided to place such persons at government quarantine facilities for the stipulated period.
Jai Prakash Shivahare, commissioner (health and family welfare), Gujarat, said there are increasing instances of persons flouting quarantine rules after returning from abroad. “On Wednesday alone, there were seven such cases identified by local governing bodies,” he said.
The health commissioner said they are initiating a move under which such persons will not be allowed self-quarantine after a breach. “They will have to be shifted to a government-run quarantine facility and will have to spend the stipulated time there. Their family members could also be put under quarantine if needed,” said Shivahare.
Deputy municipal commissioner Om Prakash said, “We deployed personnel to each of those asked to quarantine themselves at home. If they refuse to cooperate, we will seek help from the police to send such individuals to isolation at the nearest government facility.”
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