Pune: As many as 43 "first contacts" of five patients who tested positive for the novel coronavirus here in Maharashtra have been contacted and they are being monitored closely at their homes, district authorities said on Wednesday.
Till now, five people have tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Maharashtra. All the confirmed cases have been reported from Pune.
According to senior officials in the Pune district administration, currently 17 people have been admitted at the civic-run Naidu Hospital, the designated government medical facility here for coronavirus-related cases.
"Out of these 17, five are positive, reports of two persons are inconclusive and results of samples of the remaining 10 people are awaited," said Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar.
He said 43 people who were in "first close contact" with these five positive patients have been identified and contacted.
"They are being closely monitoredat their homes," he said.
All the five patients are stable and except one who has mild symptoms, the others now have no symptoms of the viral infection, Mhaisekar said.
He said identity of the patients should not be disclosed.
A relative of one of the COVID-19 patients has written to the divisional commissioner alleging that information regarding the infected person was revealed on social media and this has led to his family facing hardships and social boycott.
"Police have been asked to monitor social media posts through their IT cell to make sure no rumours are spread," he said.
Mhaisekar said the administration will take necessary action against those indulging in rumour-mongering regarding the disease.
Talking about meeting of officials with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, he said the CM took stock of the situation and assured to provide all necessary aid.
As many as 18 private hospitals with 200 beds have been kept ready to deal with any situation, Mhaisekar said.
Asked about any move to reschedule university examinations, he said no such decision has been taken yet.
"I just spoke to officials of the Savitribai Phule Pune University and took information about exam schedule," the Divisional Commissioner said.
District collector Naval Kishore Ram said as of now no instructions have been issued on closure of schools.
"We will take a decision as and when required and Chief Minister has been briefed about it," he said.
Ram said it is the discretion of infotech companies to decide whether to give the option of 'work from home' to their employees in the city, an IT hub.
