BHUBANESWAR: The State Capital on Wednesday reported its highest single- day spike of 22 Covid-19 cases that included 16 from a private hospital, prompting the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to seal the health care facility. Earlier on June 19, Blue Wheel Hospital, located at Mancheswar area, had reported six cases and with today’s number, its tally reached 27, highest for a hospital in the State.
The corporation did not elaborate if all of them were hospital staff but said the 16 who tested positive are in the age group of 18-48 years and had come in contact with a person who was infected earlier. A cancer patient undergoing treatment at the hospital had tested positive and hospital staff caught infection from him. The flurry of cases though led BMC to seal the hospital for an indefinite period. It also slapped a show-cause notice on the hospital management for violation of Covid-19 guidelines.
“We found a number of lapses in implementation of Government guidelines by the hospital. The management has been asked reply to the show cause notice within 24 hours,” said Municipal Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary. All positive cases detected in the hospital were sent to Covid hospitals and all employees have been asked to remain in home quarantine, the BMC chief said. Deputy commissioner Subhendu Sahu said the BMC also found violation of home quarantine norms by some of the hospital staff. The hospital management, however, said there hasn’t been any violation of the guidelines or quarantine norms and the virus spread among employees from a patient admitted to the hospital for cancer treatment.
“As it was an emergency case, we had to admit and attend the patient. After test, he was found positive and subsequently we tested hospital doctors and staff who had come in contact with him. They also tested positive,” an official from the hospital said. Close to 120 samples of hospital staff have already been tested after the patient was found Covid-19 positive on June 16. “All transmission have been reported after that only,” the official said, adding, “All hospital employees and outsourced staff have been home quarantined.”
Battling a formidable foe
