A medical student, who returned from Wuhan on January 11, has tested negative for the novel coronavirus (nCoV).
A native of Phulbani in the Kandhamal district, Mryutunjay Muni was admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after he approached the local authorities to undergo tests.
Director of Medical Education & Training CBK Mohanty told the media here on Tuesday that the medical student would be discharged soon.
Five of the six samples sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune had tested negative, Dr. Mohanty said and added that report of a woman medical student also admitted to the SCB was awaited.
The woman student, who returned from China was admitted to the hospital after undergoing thermal screening at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here and was found in poor health.
Dr. Mohanty said 13 persons from China and one from Thailand had arrived in Odisha so far and a close watch is being kept on them. While 12 persons were kept under home surveillance, the woman student was in the SCB isolation ward, he said.
The Centre has advised the State government to make arrangements for at least five beds in the district headquarters hospitals and 30 beds in the premier government medical college and hospitals for suspected patients, he said.
He said the State government was well prepared to handle any situation. An 80-bed isolated ward is fully ready at the SCB with a team of dedicated doctors and paramedics.
The Regional Medical Research Centre here had on Monday imparted training to paramedical staff from across the State on how to collect swab and blood samples of persons with suspected nCoV.
The Health department has requested people to inform the authorities if they come across any person who had recently returned from China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore.
The Paradip Port authorities said they had taken preventive measures to stop any possible outbreak. Though it was a cargo handing port, there was only one ship in which two crew members had visited China after January 15. The ship would berth in the next few days and crew reports were being taken on daily basis from the ship and no symptoms had been reported as of now, they said.
