Doctors and medical staff at Nair Hospital are on an alert as one of their colleagues from the paediatric ward tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. This is the first case of a clinical doctor testing positive at this civic hospital.
The doctor has been admitted to the isolation ward and all her contacts have been quarantined. Four-five of her close contacts, including her roommates were tested negative but they have been asked to self-isolate until the second test is conducted.
A hospital official informed that the hostel wing where the doctor stayed has been sealed and the residents have been moved to another wing. The official further added that all the patients that came in contact with the doctor are being tested and are currently placed in isolation.
Fortunately, she had not been seeing as many patients as she would normally see due to the lockdown. Meanwhile, a committee has been assigned with the task to look into her distant contacts.
A Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) representative said that the doctor did not show any usual symptoms - cold, cough, or fever - but complained of loss of smell (anosmia). The representative added that two days before she was tested positive, she had worked in a COVID-19 ward.
"The hospital has reduced the shift duration in corona wards for resident doctors from eight hours to six and is taking all the necessary precautions," said the MARD representative.
With this, the demand for Personal Protective Gear for all working resident doctors has risen once again.
“Though the administration provides PPE for all doctors working in the COVID ward, others are just given one reusable mask a week. Since the numbers of cases are on the rise, doctors can be exposed anywhere and not just in the isolation wards. It is a disaster waiting to happen,” a resident doctor told TOI.
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