Three more people, who were part of a 40-member tour group to Dubai, have tested positive for COVID-19, divisional authorities said on Wednesday, taking the tally of positive cases in Pune district to eight.
“They were part of the same group that included the couple from Pune who were the first to test positive for COVID-19. We have sent a few more samples for testing at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) whose results are expected soon,” Pune Divisional Commissioner Dr. Deepak Mhaisekar.
He said the condition of the five people from Pune who had earlier tested positive was stable and they were responding well to treatment at Naidu Infectious Disease Hospital. On Tuesday, the daughter of the couple, their co-passenger from Yavatmal, and the Ola cab driver who ferried the couple from Mumbai airport to Pune on their return from Dubai on March 1, had tested positive.
Earlier, a woman from Pimpri-Chinchwad, who returned from Dubai on February 27, showed COVID-19-like symptoms and was referred to Naidu hospital. However, she tested negative on Wednesday afternoon. The results of the other quarantined patients are awaited, medical authorities said.
Eight people from Kolhapur district with a history of foreign travel, including two who were studying in Italy, have also tested negative for the infection. Two among them, who are residents of Ichalkaranji in Kolhapur, had returned from Dubai a week ago and had voluntary checked themselves into the district’s CPR Hospital.
Travel warning
Dr. Mhaisekar said, “District administrations have been conducting extensive awareness campaigns on novel coronavirus by putting up posters at public places including bus stations, schools and railway stations. There is an adequate stock of protective gear, including masks, to deal with the spread of the virus. We urge residents not to undertake travel unless absolutely necessary.”
The Pune district administration on Tuesday had imposed the Disaster Management Act to combat the virus.
Meanwhile, some schools in the city have decided to remain closed till Sunday as a precautionary measure. Nanded City School and Pawar Public School in Nanded City Township, and DSK School in Dhayari took the decision after worried parents insisted schools remain shut.
While directing schools and colleges across the district to take precautionary measures, Pune District Collector Naval Kishor Ram said no order has been issued so far to shut educational establishments.
Likewise, authorities at the Savitribai Phule Pune University refuted social media rumours that the university would remain closed between March 20 and 30, and warned of legal action against anyone spreading fake news.
