This story is from January 30, 2020

Mohali man at PGI tests negative for coronavirus

The patient admitted to the PGI on January 27 for suspected novel coronavirus (nCoV) has tested negative for the strain.
Mohali man at PGI tests negative for coronavirus
Representative image
CHANDIGARH: The patient admitted to the PGI on January 27 for suspected novel coronavirus (nCoV) has tested negative for the strain. This was confirmed by the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, through a report that was received by the PGI authorities on Wednesday.
“The patient was discharged on Wednesday. We had sent his throat swabs and blood samples for the H1N1and nCoV tests.
None of them have been found to be positive,” said Dr Vikas Suri from the department of internal medicine, PGI.
The 28-year-old patient was admitted with fever and some nCoV-like symptoms after he came back from China recently. As per the protocol, he was admitted to the PGI as he had recurrent fever three days after his return from China, the epicentre of the outbreak.
The family members of the patient were also quarantined at home. He is the only such patient admitted in a city hospital so far. Those who had a travel history to China recently had been asked to stay at home as they had shown no symptoms.
A press statement issued by PGI stated that the patient was stable. The throat swab and blood sample were sent to Pune on January 27. The patient had come to the emergency. When he informed the authorities about his travel, he was immediately admitted to the communicable disease isolation ward. Doctors at the PGI had also traced his contacts not to risk possible transmission of the virus.
Till date, this is the only sample sent to NIV Pune from Chandigarh, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
“As the virus strain is new, there will be many cases. The same happened with H1N1 when it made inroads in the country and now its mortality and prevalence has been declining,” said Dr Suri.
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About the Author
Shimona Kanwar

Shimona Kanwar is an assistant editor who joined The Times of India in 2005. She covers science and health, and prefers an interdisciplinary approach. She loves simplifying science stories, sheering them of jargon to ensure enjoyable reading.

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