21-year-old found positive for coronavirus, Pune count rises to 10

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The 21-year-old youth, who had landed in Mumbai while returning from US and come to Pune on March 10, immediately went to Naidu Hospital to check if he had the disease. The report on his sample, which came on Friday, showed that he was positive for the disease.

The 45-year-old COVID-19 patient in Ahmednagar was part of the group which had visited Dubai. He has been admitted to the civil hospital in Ahmednagar.

The wife of a 64-year-old Mumbai resident, who had tested positive on Thursday after traveling to Dubai, tested positive on Friday night. She was one of the seven close contacts among family and friends who had been isolated in Kasturba Hospital.

On Friday, 133 new people suspected to have COVID-19 symptoms were admitted across various hospitals in the state.

“While there is a need to stay alert and prevent the spread of the disease, at least till now, there has been no local transmission of the virus,” said Pune District Collector Naval Kishore Ram.

The seven patients in Pune are admitted in Naidu Hospital, while the three patients in Pimpri-Chinchwad are at YCM Hospital. The patients at both Naidu and YCM hospitals are stable, said an official of the Health department.

The ninth case in Pune, which was confirmed on Thursday, was that of a 33-year-old man who had returned from US to Delhi, and then came to Pune on March 1. He had gone to Naidu Hospital to get checked after a gap of 10 days, and was found to be positive for the virus on Thursday.

“This person also travelled outside the city during this period and we are tracing all his contacts,” said Ram.

According to Pune Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar, samples from 43 persons who were in contact with the group of patients from Pune, which had travelled to Dubai, tested negative for the disease.

Mhaisekar said most people admitted in the isolation wards have mild symptoms and it requires a lot of patience to be under quarantine for 14 days. It also requires a lot of patience and understanding from both health department staff and relatives of those who have been admitted, said the divisional commissioner. “We are doing our best to attend to each person’s need,” he added.