Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
Panic gripped the state capital after a 29-year-old woman who had only last week returned from China was admitted to the isolation ward at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on Monday after she developed symptoms similar to the deadly coronavirus which has claimed scores of lives so far. The patient is now under the observation of the doctors.
Health officials said Ekta Kumari, who was doing research at a China University, fell sick soon after she reached her home in Chapra town last week. Subsequently, someone from her family contacted the state surveillance office Dr Ragini Mishra who got her admitted to the Sadar Hospital in Chapra. However, she was soon referred to PMCH keeping in view her symptoms which matched that of coronavirus. Reports said she was suffering from cold, cough, fever, and breathlessness.
PMCH superintendent Dr Bimal Karak said the suspect had been admitted to the isolation ward and she is under the observation of doctors. He informed that suspect’s blood samples have been collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune for tests.
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The girl, however, claimed she was fine and there was nothing to worry about and that she had been forcibly admitted to the PMCH. “There is no problem with me. I was released by the airport authorities. I have only some fever as my body temperature shows 98 F. Will you declare anyone suffering from coronavirus just because he/she has come from China?” she asked the media persons at the PMCH campus on Monday.
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