VISAKHAPATNAM/TIRUPATI: A 40-year-old man who arrived at the Visakhapatnam International Airport from Dubai on Sunday has been admitted to an isolation ward at the Government Chest Hospital as he was found to be suffering from a cough and breathing difficulties.
He was said to be inebriated and tried to flee from the ward, causing tense moments for hospital staff. However, he was later pacified, and his samples have been sent for testing for coronavirus. The results are expected on Monday or Tuesday.
Meanwhile, two more persons have been placed in isolated in Vizag on suspicion that they contracted the deadly coronavirus. The two who were kept under isolation at SVR Ruia Government Hospital in Tirupati tested negative on Sunday.
While being screened at the Visakhapatnam International Airport in the morning, the 40-year-old man who arrived from Dubai was found to be suffering from cough. He was immediately shifted to the isolation ward in an ambulance.
District coronavirus nodal officer Pardhasaradhi said the patient was from Srikakulam and had been suffering from cough for the past month. He might have been suffering from breathing-related problems too as he was working in a timber depot, Pardhasaradhi said.
The official added that a couple, who landed in Visakhapatnam from Singapore via Bengaluru was also admitted to an isolation ward on Saturday night. They were suffering from cough and cold, and their samples have been sent for testing. In Tirupati, the two persons who returned after foreign visits and were admitted to the isolation ward at the SVRR Government General Hospital in Tirupati tested negative for coronavirus on Sunday.
It may be recalled that at first two patients who were suspected to have symptoms of coronavirus and were admitted to the isolation ward on Friday tested negative for COVID-19. But two more persons who returned after foreign visits from Singapore and Germany were admitted to the isolation ward at the SVRR hospital in Tirupati. Doctors sent their samples for testing to the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences in Tirupati. After the reports came in on Sunday, SVRR hospital superintendent confirmed that they tested negative.
Training programme
A State-level two-day training programme will be conducted for rapid response teams, district surveillance officers and employees of healthcare facilities in Vijayawada on Monday and Tuesday. A national-level training workshop was held on March 6.