Kolkata: The family members of the lone COVID-19 patient in West Bengal have tested negative to novel coronavirus Wednesday but were quarantined for 14 days, a senior health official here said.
The 18-year-old youth, who recently returned here Sunday from the United Kingdom, tested positive for the disease Tuesday, making it the first such case in the state.
The youth’s mother, who is a senior state government official, his father, a doctor by profession, and two drivers were quarantined at a newly-established facility in Rajarhat area in the northeastern fringes of the city.
“We have also tracked 10-12 co-passengers who flew back to the country along with the youth and suggested that they be kept in home isolation. We are trying to track the other co-passengers,” the official said.
Doctors of the Beliaghata ID and BG hospital said the condition of the youth is stable. His mother is facing criticism on social media for her alleged lackadaisical attitude in getting the youth examined upon his return from the UK.
“She has flouted health department guidelines by taking her son to their south Kolkata residence March 15 without getting him examined despite being advised by authorities of the authorities of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport to do so,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the Nadia district administration has kept eight persons in isolation after they came in contact with the father of the COVID-19 patient. The youth’s father had seen patients Monday and Tuesday. Search is on for the other persons who came in contact with the doctor, officials said.
In a separate development, 95 persons who recently returned from Kerala to Rudranagar area in South 24 Parganas district have been sent for examination, sources said.
Agencies
