Anuradha Mascarenhas

On Sunday, a two-year-old boy had tested positive for coronavirus. He is from the same family of 24 who had earlier tested positive.

India’s response to COVID-19 has been robust, helping it check the spread better than many countries. Several measures, from surveillance to tests across labs, are derived from lessons learnt from earlier epidemics, including the 1994 plague and last year’s Nipah. The Indian Express takes stock

The first batch of 150 kits was rolled out to diagnostic labs in Pune, Mumbai, Delhi, Goa and Bengaluru. The current government protocol involves screening and confirmation of samples which takes 6-7 hours whereas our COVID-19 test includes a single test for both screening and confirmation

Besides Sangli, four cases were reported from Nagpur, three from Mumbai, two in Thane and one each from Palghar and Gondia. One of those who tested positive in Mumbai is a one-and-half-year old child.

Anil Deshmukh also said while measures to upgrade facilities were underway at larger cities like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, where there are more cases, the state government was also planning to set up “isolated corridors” connecting to isolation beds in wards of various hospitals

According to the Pune Municipal Corporation, if the disinfecting chemical is used injudiciously, it will cause a shortage later on.

Maharashtra's first positive cases, they finally got the second result confirming them negative and ending their 14-day isolation, at 5.30 am Wednesday.

The team under the ward medical officer directs the contacts to be home quarantined and it tracks the health of contacts for 14 days to observe the symptoms of infection in them. If there are symptoms, then the person is referred for the test.

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Thousands of persons from rural areas work in urban areas such as Mumbai and Pune that may put them at a risk of COVID-19 due to interaction with foreign nationals.

At Bharati Hospital and Research Centre, run by the Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical Foundation and Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University Medical College, coronavirus had been detected in a 41-year-old anganwadi worker who has been admitted to the ICU.

The circular issued by Sanjay Deshmukh, registrar of MMC, said, “Doctors are advised against prescribing injections.” Deshmukh also directed that all records have to be strictly preserved and it should be mentioned as a header on the letter head of the prescription being issued on telephonic consultation.

As the number of infected people rise, the ICMR had on Saturday said it was roping in private laboratories to carry out tests as well.

So far in Pune, apart from the National Institute of Virology, which is the apex Indian Council of Medical Research laboratory, the B J Medical college (BJMC) and Armed Forces Medical College can start conducting tests.

The woman's husband, her 21-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son, her sister and sister's husband have also tested positive for the virus. They were the only new positive cases to be discovered in the twin cities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, which now have a total of 28 positive cases.

According to the SAFAR report from March 5, there has been a reduction in the levels of NOx in Pune (45 per cent), Mumbai (45 per cent) and Ahmedabad (50 per cent) this year.

While the crisis is almost over in China, the French doctor was critical about experts’ comments who have given interviews saying not to work. 

In quarantine at the state-run Naidu Hospital for the last 12 days, the family is now keenly awaiting their two-week isolation to get over, their initial nervousness having given way to optimism and relief.