An expert committee of medical professionals under the supervision of the Department of Health and Family Welfare is now trying to find out the source of COVID-19 infection in Bantwal and First Neuro Hospital, which has been declared as supervised isolation centre, in Mangaluru.
It is because unlike many COVID-19 positive cases recorded in Dakshina Kannada which had travel history to Dubai and Delhi, the cases reported from Bantwal and the private hospital did not have it.
Of 24 positive cases recorded in the district till Monday, 14 cases, except that of a child, had travel history to Dubai and Delhi.
Of the 10 other cases reported, four are from Bantwal and six cases are linked to the First Neuro Hospital at Padil in the city. A 50-year-old woman was the first who tested positive in Bantwal. She was also visiting the hospital at Padil to see her ailing mother-in-law aged 75 years being treated for multiple health complications. The latter (75-year-old woman) who also turned positive for COVID-19 died later at Government Wenlock Hospital (which is the COVID hospital) in the city and became the second victim of the disease in the district.
The six-member committee is now pondering whether the infection spread from Padil to Bantwal or from Bantwal to Padil. If not, whether there were any other sources of infection in the hospital at Padil.
Ramachandra Bayari, District Health and Family Welfare Officer (DHO), told The Hindu that the committee comprised a consultant of the World Health Organisation (WHO), a microbiologist, an expert on infectious diseases, a representative of National Quality Assurance Standards, the District Surgeon who is also the Superintendent of Government Wenlock Hospital, and the DHO.
He said that after the 75-year-old old woman at First Neuro Hospital tested positive, the Health Department has quarantined 210 persons, primary and secondary contacts, linked to the hospital at four quarantine centres. Their second swab test will be done on the 12th day from the date of last recorded positive case in the hospital, that was on April 26. If all of them turned negative they will be sent for home quarantine for another 14 days.
Of the six cases linked to the hospital, four cases are that of patients discharged from the same hospital and their contacts and two cases include that of an old woman being treated at the hospital and a hospital staff.
