RAIPUR: Two migrant labourers from Jharkhand tested coronavirus positive in Chhattisgarh on Thursday, taking the number of such patients in the state to 40, of whom 36 have been discharged so far, health officials said.
Talking to PTI, public relations officer of AIIMS-Raipur, said that a total nine people, including some migrant labourers from Surajpur district of Chhattisgarh, had tested positive in the rapid-testing method and were kept in the isolation ward at the hospital, where their RT-PCR tests were conducted.
"Two of them, a 26-year-old and another aged 25 years, tested positive this afternoon. With this, total four active cases are currently being treated in the COVID-19 ward of AIIMS," he said. Their condition is stable and they are getting treatment as per the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
He said that on April 28, a 58-year-old migrant labourer from neighbouring Jharkhand state, who was admitted to a quarantine centre in Jajawal village of Surajpur, had tested positive for the infection. "Later, reports of nine other people, including migrant labourers and government staff, at the facility came out positive in the rapid testing process. However, all nine were shifted to AIIMS Raipur and their swab samples were taken for RT-PCR test for final confirmation," he said.
"Two of them were found infected. However, six other suspected patients have been shifted to a quarantine facility at Mana here, while the sample of one more person will be re-tested to ascertain COVID-19 status," he added.
Another official said that all three migrant labourers who tested positive, worked in Maharashtra and had travelled to the border district of Rajnandgaon along with other labourers during the lockdown early this month in a bid to return to Jharkhand,.
They were placed in a camp on the inter-state border, but in view of crowding at the facility, workers, most of them hailing from Jharkahand and Bihar, were shifted to the quarantine centre in Surajpur on April 17, he said.
The officer added that the fourth coronavirus positive patient currently undergoing treatment is a nursing officer of AIIMS, Raipur. With the latest cases, the state has so far recorded 40 cases of coronavirus. He said that among all cases, 36 have been discharged from hospitals following their recovery.