16 suspected Coronavirus cases in Punjab, five in Haryana

Chandigarh, Jan 28 (IANS) Sixteen patients in Punjab and five in Haryana have been quarantined on suspicion of having Coronavirus, ministers in both the states said on Tuesday.

However, one death in Punjab’s Amritsar was due to swine flu.

A 28-year-old man from Mohali in Punjab who had recently returned from China, was admitted to the PGI here after he was diagnosed with symptoms of Coronavirus.

The blood samples of all the patients have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune.

Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said 16 patients have been kept in isolation wards and are under observation. Their samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology.

He said sample reports of the child, who died in Amritsar on Monday, confirmed swine flu was responsible for the death.

Sidhu’s counterpart in Haryana, Anil Vij told the media that five people, who have a travel history to China, have been hospitalised on suspicion of having Coronavirus symptoms.

According to him, two of them have shown symptoms closer to Coronavirus.

The two cases from Gurugram and one each from Faridabad, Panipat and Nuh have been reported, said Suraj Bhan Kamboj, Director General Health Services, Haryana.

“We have sent the samples of two people, who have shown symptoms, to National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing. But all the five are under observation,” he said.

PGI Director Jagat Ram told the media here that he wrote a letter to the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh not to refer the suspected Coronavirus patients to the PGI but to keep them in isolation wards in their hospitals.

He said the 28-year-old man was the lone suspected case and the virus could be confirmed only after getting the report by Wednesday.

The man was admitted to the PGI with high grade fever and headache. His family has been quarantined in home.

Ram said the swine flu is still prevalent and both swine flu and Coronavirus have almost similar symptoms.

In Punjab, thermal sensors have been installed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar and the Chandigarh international airport to screen coronavirus.