BHOPAL: Seven persons, including three British nationals, a Chinese traveler and a medico couple have been quarantined in Bhopal and Ujjain over possibility of contracting COVID-19 infection as the state declared coronavirus as a 'Notified Infectious Disease' on Wednesday. .
On Tuesday night, an Indian-origin trio from Britain, including a woman, who were staying at a hotel in Bhopal’s MP Nagar area were quarantined following coronavirus-like symptoms. The driver of the vehicle, which was being boarded by them during their stay in Bhopal, too has been quarantined.
According to state health department sources in Bhopal, the trio from Britain had recently travelled to India from Europe and it was found that they were accompanied by a man hailing from Europe, who had been found positive for the killer virus recently in Maharashtra.
Also, a Chinese traveler who was found at Bhopal railway station on Tuesday night has been quarantined. Sources added that swab samples of all five of them have been sent for testing at the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS-Bhopal).
Also, a Ujjain based medico couple who recently returned home from Thailand have been quarantined at Ujjain’s district hospital.
Newly appointed state Chief Secretary M Gopal Reddy has said that all the District Collectors should take measures and make innovations to prevent Novel Corona virus infection according to the local situation and environment.
He said that this challenge can be faced by being self-aware, conducting awareness campaign on a large scale and by constantly monitoring it. "People should be motivated to adopt rescue measures at field level. Effective efforts must be made to limit crowd in social and religious events with the mutual consent of the common people," he said.
Reddy was reviewing the ongoing activities in the state through video conference in Mantralaya to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Principal Secretary (Public Health and Family Welfare) Pallavi Jain Govil informed that passengers coming from countries affected by COVID-19 are being continuously screened in the state. "State Portal for COVID-19 Monitoring" has been developed for information regarding preventive measures against infection and updated status.
The support of private hospitals is also being sought. She said that it is necessary to advise commoners to encourage eating and consuming medicines that boost immunity. Meanwhile, the Mamaleshwar Temple in Khandwa district has been closed, while safety arrangements have been made at the neighbouring Omkareshwar temple (which houses one of the jyotirlingas).
At the world famous Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, public attendance at the highly-crowded early morning Bhasma Arti has been stopped till further orders to prevent possibility of COVID-19 virus spread.
In Indore, the Indore Divisional Commissioner has ordered suspending all bus services connecting Indore with Maharashtra, including premium/chartered bus services between Indore and Mumbai and Indore and Pune to prevent risk of Coronavirus infection spreading into Indore from Maharashtra.