Punjab: Police steps in to get man suspected of having coronavirus admitted to hospital

The district authorities in Punjab's Faridkot had to seek the help of local police to make a 38-year-old man with coronavirus like symptoms get admitted to the isolation ward of a government hospital, officials said on Tuesday.

The man had returned from Canada via China and got himself checked at the Kotkapura civil hospital at Faridkot on Monday.

Thereafter, he was advised to get himself admitted to the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot as per guidelines issued by the Union government, they said.

However, the man refused to get admitted to the isolation ward and instead left for home, said Faridkot Civil surgeon Rajinder Kumar.

When the matter was brought to the notice of higher authorities, the district administration asked Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police to take necessary action in assisting medical officers of the health department to keep the patient isolated.

Faridkot Deputy Superintendent of Police (Kotkapura) Balkar Singh said the patient got himself admitted to the government hospital after being counselled.

The samples of the patient have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, official further said.

The coronavirus is a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from common cold to acute respiratory syndromes, but the virus that has killed people in China is a novel strain and not seen before.

The virus - which first emerged in Wuhan city in China's central Hubei province - has spread to 25 countries, including India (three confirmed cases have been reported from Kerala), the US and the UK. PTI CHS SUN RHL