Rajasthan: Keep an eye on suspected coronavirus cases, hospitals told

JAIPUR: All private and government hospitals have been put on alert across the state in the wake of novel coronavirus (nCoV), which has claimed 41 lives in China.
Acting on the advisory sent by the Centre, the health department put its authorities on alert.

The ministry has issued guidelines for surveillance and contact tracing, infection control, lab sample testing and clinical care.
The Union health minister has urged passengers who have a travel history to China since January 1, 2020 to come forward for self-reporting to the nearest health facility if they experience any symptoms such as fever, cough and respiratory distress and also inform their treating doctor.
However, the state is not among seven states where thermal screening is being done.
The seven designated airports in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi are conducting thermal screening for passengers who are arriving from China and Hong Kong.
The state’s health department has written to all government and private hospitals to keep monitoring patients coming to them with symptoms of coronavirus disease.
So far, no case has been reported but the health department is on alert.
“We have directed our officials across the state to keep an eye on the patients coming to the hospital, even in private ones. In case, if any hospital reports a patient with symptoms of novel coronavirus, the health department should remain prepared to handle the situation,” a senior health department official said.
An advisory on novel coronavirus has been issued mentioning that cluster of pneumoniawere being reported from Wuhan city, Hubei Province in China. Chinese authorities have identified it to be caused by a new type of coronavirus. Coronavirus are large family of viruses with some causing less severe disease such as common cold and others more severe diseases such as MERS and SARS.