Coronavirus: Man returning from Saudi Arabia dies at isolation ward in West Bengal
The man was a diabetes patient who had returned home from Saudi Arabia and was admitted to the isolation ward of the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital yesterday and died on Sunday. His samples were sent for testing.
FollowKolkata: A diabetic man died in the isolation ward of a hospital in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Sunday, a day after he was admitted there with suspected symptoms of coronavirus following his return from Saudi Arabia.
According to doctors, he was admitted to the hospital with fever, cough and cold.
Though test results of his blood and swab samples for novel coronavirus were awaited, it can be said that Janarul Haque died probably of diabetes, director of health services Ajay Chakraborty said.
"The man was highly diabetic and was on insulin. He returned home from Saudi Arabia and had no money to take insulin for the last three to four days.
"He was also suffering from fever, cough and cold. He was admitted to the isolation ward of the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital yesterday and died today," the health services director said.
"We are waiting for the results of medical tests. The possibility of his death due to novel coronavirus infection is remote," he added.
However, precautions will be taken during the last rites of Haque according to the directives set by the central and state governments for patients who die of the virus, another senior official said.
"Family members will not be allowed to touch the body since the man had been suffering from cough and breathlessness. Those performing his last rites will be given protective gear, masks and gloves. Though test results are yet to be known, we do not want to take any chance," he said.
Meanwhile, the state health department has issued a directive to all private medical facilities to create a system for assessing all patients during admission allowing early recognition of possible Covid-19 infection and immediate isolation of patients with suspected nCoV infection in an area separate from other patients.
As per the directive, private hospitals should "ensure space for utilisation as isolation ward”. Person testing positive for Covid-19 should remain hospitalised till two of their samples are tested negative as per the ministry of health and family welfare's discharge policy.
It has also asked all private medical facilities to "apply standard precautions for all patients by medical masks and perform hand hygiene after contact with respiratory secretions".
The directive includes "implementing empiric additional precautions, airborne precautions, using environmental and engineering controls and maintain recommendation for outpatient care".
The state health department has directed the private medical establishments to conduct, in-house sessions of sensitisation workshops for doctors, nursing personnel, other middle-tier administrators and other staff association with patient care services in this connection.
With PTI Inputs
