47 COVID-19 patients in Mumbai were referred by fever clinics
Mumbai is one of the worst coronavirus affected citiesin the country as it has till now reported 3,451 COVID-19cases and 151 deaths.
After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)found a number of patients coming from slum areas, it set upsome fever OPDs (Out Patient Departments) to reach out to alarger population.
"A close analysis of the total cases from Mumbairevealed that most of the patients were already quarantined,while some 47 patients referred by the fever clinics latertested positive for coronavirus," a senior BMC official said.
"This is the main reason why we are still not callingit community spread because in most of the cases, contactswere traced," another official said.
The BMC-run small hospitals have an advantage ofproximity. The doctors and patients there know each other.This helped the BMC to speak to people and locate some ofthose who had mild fever, he said.
"These people were immediately isolated and 47 of themlater tested positive for coronavirus. Contact-tracing alsohelped to a certain extent in containing further spread of thedisease, he said.
Asked about patients who were already quarantined, theofficial said, "They were the obvious suspects because someoneclose to them earlier tested positive or died due to theCOVID-19."
As a precautionary measure, they were kept ininstitutional quarantine and they subsequently testedpositive, he said. NDGK GK