Pune: 2 test positive for coronavirus; kin, driver admitted in hospital

A day after two patients related to each other tested positive for novel coronavirus in Pune, district authorities on Tuesday said their family members have been admitted in Naidu Hospital here and their samples sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology.

Divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said the two Covid-19 patients were part of a group of 40 people which landed at Mumbai airport on March 1 from Dubai and had taken an Ola cab to Pune.

"When the two reached Mumbai, they did not show any symptoms and Dubai is not on the list of coronavirus affected regions," he said.

"The Ola cab driver and three family members of the two patients have been admitted in Naidu hospital and their samples sent to NIV for testing. The list of 40 people who were with the two patients has been received and respective district authorities have been told to carry out their medical examination," he said.

Mhaisekar said a team comprising officials of Pune Municipal Corporation, Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and district police has been formed to trace people who may have come in contact with these two Covid-19 patients after they arrived here.

He said isolation facilities, comprising 200 beds, have been created in 21 places, and private practitioners have been directed to report patients with history of foreign travel.

A senior official on Monday had said the duo started showing symptoms only on March 8 after which they approached doctors, following which their samples were sent for testing.

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