Days after Chennai’s Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) in Chennai shut down its cardiology ward after a few postgraduate (PG) doctors tested positive for the coronavirus, the men’s hostel of the Madras Medical College (MMC) has also been shut down after a sweeper tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. Many postgraduate students and interns staying at MMC hostel are working at the RGGH.
According to reports, after the sweeper of the men’s hostel was confirmed to have COVID-19, samples have been taken from 102 residents of the hostel for testing. Of the 102 samples, the results of 100 doctors have returned negative. The results of two doctors are pending with the lab. The hostel has now been shut and all the residents have been placed under isolation. Dr Jayanthi, the Dean of RGGGH told Times of India that until Sunday, 471 doctors and 363 nurses and paramedic staff working in RGGGH have been tested for COVID-19 infection.
A few days ago, the cardiology ward in the same hospital was shut down and moved to another premises after a PG doctor who worked there tested positive. Sources close to the affected doctor alleged that the source of the infection was a patient who was admitted to the cardiology ward. The PG doctor who tested positive and a nurse had intubated the patient and thus contracted the infection, the source alleged. Doctors in RGGGH have also alleged that the hospital has not given Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits for those who are not posted in the COVID-19 ward for duty. However, health officials refuted the allegations, stating that the PG doctor had not gotten the infection from the hospital and had contracted the virus from outside.
On Sunday, Tamil Nadu reported 64 positive cases of which 28 was from Chennai and 15 was from Madurai. The state now has 1885 cases of COVID-19. Sixty patients were discharged from hospitals on Sunday and the total number of patients recovered and discharged in Tamil Nadu stands at 1020 and 24 patients have died in the state due to COVID-19.