IGMC team which treated COVID-19 patients kept in quarantine: official

A 15-member medical team that treated three COVID-19 patients at Himachal Pradesh's premier Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) here has been kept in quarantine, the hospital's senior medical superintendent Dr Janak Raj said.

The team -- including five doctors and four nurses as well as six safai karamcharis and security guards -- has been kept in 14-day quarantine as per protocol since April 13, he said.

They are not allowed to meet anyone and their tests for COVID-19 will be conducted after completion of their quarantine period, he said, adding that they would be allowed to go home only after they are tested negative.

Three residents of Uttar Pradesh, who are members of the Tablighi Jamaat from Solan's Nalagarh and had tested positive on April 4, were admitted to IGMC on April 5.

The trio had attended a large religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin last month where many people had contracted the virus apparently from foreign delegates.

The medical team treated the three COVID-19 patients till they were discharged on April 12 after two subsequent tests conducted on them were negative.

Meanwhile, the outpatient department (OPD) resumed at IGMC on Thursday. It had been suspended a few days ago to handle COVID-19 patients, he said.

A total of 351 patients were examined in the OPD and 89 were treated in the emergency department Thursday, he added.

The official urged patients to visit the multi-specialty hospital only in case of requirement of intensive care or with referral from health centres or district hospitals to avoid undue crowd.

Every person who visited IGMC Thursday underwent thermal scanning at the gate and was provided a mask, he added.

The security guards and the visitors were directed to maintain a distance of at least one metre from others to check the spread of COVID-19, he said.

The hospital staff is being provided with masks, sanitizers and PPE kits for their safety, he added.