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Chhattisgarh reported it’s first positive coronavirus case on Thursday. A 24-year-old woman, who returned from London, is currently undergoing treatment in an isolated ward in AIIMS, Raipur.
Chhattisgarh Health minister TS Singh Deo confirmed that the woman was the first COVID patient in the state. “She had reported to AIIMS but was with her family. On late Wednesday night, we got the results, and we have admitted the girl and isolated four of her immediate family members, including her parents,” Singh Deo said.
The woman had apparently traveled from London to Indore and then to Raipur on March 15. She had not been screened at the airport but had reported to AIIMS to get a routine check-up when her sample was collected, sources said. The department is also finding out the people she had traveled with and interacted with on her way home, sources said.
The state has tested over 60 people based on their travel history. While most cases have tested negative, some reports are expected. The health department has already sent the sample of the woman identified as positive to the NIV Pune lab to get some more tests done, officials from the health department said.
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All schools and colleges, anganwadis, parks and libraries along with swimming pools and gyms have been shut in the state following directives from the state government. The government has also issued notices to all the collectors and departmental heads to ensure that all officers are on duty and all leaves except in exceptional cases stand cancelled till March 31. The state health minister had already requested a broader testing criteria and had asked the central government to provide them with testing kits. Currently, the testing apparatus is only available at the AIIMS laboratory in Raipur.
