PUNE: Pune, Mumbai and Thane reported one COVID-19 positive case each on Thursday. There are 14 positive patients in the State till Thursday. Pune Divisional Commissioner Dr Deepak Mhaisekar during the press conference on Thursday said currently, 42 samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune for testing.
“As many as 25 patients were in the first contact with Pune patients, while others were the suspected cases. The three patients who tested positive on Wednesday were also in close contact with the Pune couple. We have two isolation wards at Naidu Hospital in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits and YCM Hospital in Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) limits,” said Mhaisekar.
Mhaisekar said that before the cases of COVID-19 rise, all passengers with a travel history to the seven high-risk countries and who were aboard Dubai flights landing in Pune, will be quarantined.
“We will be taking the travel history of each patient who has travelled to China, Italy, Iran, Republic of Korea, France, Spain and Germany before boarding the flight from Dubai to Pune. They will be isolated as a precautionary measure to assess if they have any symptoms of COVID-19,” said Mhaisekar.
Speaking to Sakal Times, Pune Airport Director Kuldeep Singh said that 10 flights of SpiceJet and Air India land in Pune every week from Dubai.
“Each flight has a maximum capacity of 189 passengers. Though 189 is the maximum capacity, many times, the seats are empty. The Air India flight arrives in Pune at 1:30 am and the SpiceJet flight arrives at 4:30 am,” the Pune Airport Director informed.
BUILDING AND AREA QUARANTINED
The authorities have identified four areas from the city which have turned into containment zones.
“As per the guidelines from the Central government, we have been directed to keep the containment zone radius of three-kilometre and a buffer zone radius of five-kilometre. We have outlined the area through GPS. In these areas, citizens are advised to leave their homes only if it is extremely important. Normal movement has been restricted in these areas. We urge the citizens to cooperate,” said Mhaisekar.
ARMY ROPED IN
The Army is preparing new facilities for isolation.
Army spokesperson Col Aman Anand said, “In the next few days, we are expecting more citizens to come back to India. We have prepared new facilities in cities including Jodhpur, Jhansi, Gorakhpur, Kolkata, Jaisalmer, Chennai and Deolali where we can quarantine these people.”
- Army officials said that more facilities can be set up at other locations based on the number of people that need to be quarantined.
‘NO DISCLOSURE OF PATIENTS’ IDENTITY’
- Pune Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said that criminal action will be taken against those who are disclosing the identity of the patients on social media platforms.
- Soon, two more helplines under PMC and PCMC will be functional for dedicated questions of the public with the 104 helpline number by the State government.
- Railway hospitals in Byculla, Kalyan, Bhusaval, Solapur, Nagpur and Pune have also set up isolation wards for treating suspected COVID-19 cases with the availability of the necessary protective gears.
