First local transmission COVID19 case, total six in Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati: The AP registered first local transmission COVID19 positive case in Visakhapatnam on Sunday, revealed in the Health, Medical and Family Welfare departments latest bulletin.

A 49-year-old woman, who was a close contact of a coronavirus positive patient in Visakhapatnam. She was admitted in the hospital on 20.03.2020 and tested positive on 22.03.2020.

The health department traced the origin of the local transmit case. She affected the virus from the 65 years old male patient who arrived on 10.03.2020 from Saudi

Arabia to Hyderabad international airport. He travelled to Visakhapatnam and reached on 12.03.2020. He was admitted at Govt Chest Hospital Visakhapatnam on 17.03.2020.

His sample collected on 17.03.2020 and tested positive. The contact tracing is in process, to find further details.

Interestingly, a patient who returned from Italy was admitted in Government General Hospital, Nellore and tested positive for COVID-19 was successfully treated in Government General Hospital, Nellore and tested negative on Sunday.

The patient had a travel history from Italy to Delhi and from there to Chennai by flight, from Chennai he travelled by Car to Nellore where he became symptomatic with Cough, Fever and was admitted at GGH, Nellore on March 9, 2020, in the COVID-19 Isolation ward.

There he was examined and underwent investigations for COVID-19 disease and was tested positive.

All the contacts of the patient were traced immediately which includes his father, mother, driver and friends.

They were all quarantined and advised home isolation, samples of them have been collected, which tested negative for COVID-19.

The patient was well-taken care by Dr. Sambasiva Rao, Superintendent, GGH, Nellore and Dr. Narendra, Associate Professor of Pulmonology who treated him assisted by Staff Nurses, Paramedical, supporting and Sanitation staff.

The patient responded well to the treatment and recovered. Repeated samples were taken on 21st & 22nd March 2020 as per protocol and both of them have tested negative.

Now the patient is stable and will be discharged soon.

This success story is demonstrating the capabilities of the Specialists available in the Government sector in handling critical cases.

It also demonstrated the capabilities of the hospital administration and sanitation staff in containing the spread of disease within the premises of the hospital and surrounding though the patient has stayed for 14 days in Hospital.

All inpatient care protocols and measures for the treatment of COVID-19 have been implemented. Bio-Waste Management of the patient wastes is done as per protocols envisaged to prevent the spread of infection. Doctors and other health care workers have used Personal Protection Equipment and hand sensitization to protect themselves.

The isolation ward has been sanitized regularly and the entire hospital has been sanitized at periodical intervals with 1 percent hypochlorite to prevent the spread of infection.