Four docs, 8 nurses of MKCG infected
BERHAMPUR: Twelve medical staff of MKCG Medical College and Hospital (MCH), including four anesthesiologists and eight nurses, tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, prompting allegations that precautionary measures are not being taken for healthcare providers who are particularly vulnerable to the disease.
According to reports, a patient was operated upon at the surgery department of the MCH on May 31. Few days later, the patient was detected positive. As per the protocol, the doctors and nurses who came in contact with him were also examined and 12 of them tested positive.
Earlier on June 5, two doctors, as many nurses and a technician of City Hospital at Berhampur were admitted to Covid-19 hospital. Official sources, though, have still not confirmed if they tested positive for coronavirus.
Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange said he has no information on the MCH cases.MKCG MCH Superintendent Dr Santosh Kumar Mishra refused to reveal if the 12 health staff including doctors have been affected by coronavirus but said all of them have been kept at the isolation ward of the hospital. Urging people and health workers not to panic, Mishra said all possible measures are being taken to prevent transmission of the disease.
Although the patients should be shifted to Covid-19 hospital, MCH insiders said the affected healthcare providers preferred to stay at the isolation ward of MKCG as it is safer than the dedicated facility.
Meanwhile, the number of positive cases in Ganjam district touched 631 on the day with 33 new cases being reported. Four patients have succumbed so far. A majority of the positive cases are returnees who are under home quarantine.
Steady rise in cases continues
Cases have been rising steadily in Sundargarh district with 12 new Covid-19 cases being reported in the last 24 hours. All of them were under quarantine at Rourkela and Rajgangpur. While two patients had come in contact with previous positive patients, the rest were returnees from Cuttack, Gujarat, Maharasthra, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. One person recovered on Monday and there are 54 active cases. Six new cases were reported in Jajpur on Monday and the total tally stood at 325. All the six were under institutional quarantine in their gram panchayats under Korei and Dasarathpur blocks. Of the 325 cases, 56 are active. Kalahandi reported three more cases on the day. The patients had returned from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu and had been quarantined at Lanjigarh TMC. There are 15 active cases in the district now. Meanwhile, Malkangiri was declared Covid-19 free on Monday following discharge of all the 21 patients who recovered from the disease. There are no positive cases in the district since the last 12 days.