Prominent social activist Sunitha Krishnan and founder of NGO Prajwala, which works against human trafficking, was admitted to the state-run Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad on Monday, for suspected coronavirus. The activist is being monitored in the isolation ward. Sunitha Krishnan returned from Bangkok on Sunday evening. After having a mild cough and fever, she voluntarily got admitted in the hospital. Meanwhile, one case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Telangana, however it is not known which district this person is in. The Health Minister has called for a press meet in the evening.
Speaking to TNM, Sunitha Krishnan said, “I went to Bangkok to address the Parliamentary group, and I spent two more days there. I picked up a cough from there, so I self reported to the hospital.” At the Hyderabad airport, Sunitha underwent thermal screening. As the cough persisted with mild fever, she voluntarily got admitted.
Alleging apathy by the hospital authorities, she said, “I’ve been talking to several international experts and they are all extremely worried about coronavirus. Here I see such lethargy. I came to Gandhi hospital at 9.30 am. After waiting for two hours, they took a look at me only at 11.20 am. Only at 12.30 pm they took some test samples. There’s nobody in the hospital to tell you how things pan out.”
Speaking to TNM, Dr Shravan Kumar, Gandhi Hospital, Superintendent said, “We have taken her test samples. The test reports would be out tomorrow."
So far since the outbreak of the disease, Gandhi Hospital has had 102 suspected cases of coronavirus. However, samples were taken from only 83 patients, and all of them tested negative. Earlier, samples were being sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing. However, as the influx of patients grew, Telangana arranged medical kits in Gandhi Hospital to carry out tests.
So going to enjoy hospitality at Gandhi Hospital for two days as admitted in the isolation ward suspected coronavirus. They have not started the tests yet( 1.30 hrs since I arrived).I believe the results make take 48hrs. At this pace, I have a feeling I am might be here sometime
— sunitha krishnan (@sunita_krishnan) March 2, 2020
The coronavirus disease outbreak is caused by a strain of the coronavirus which earlier had caused Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreaks in humans in 2002 and 2013 respectively. Treatment is largely based on supportive measures though officials have noted that the use of antiretroviral drugs which are used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Symptoms of coronavirus include: runny nose, cough, sore throat, headache and fever.
