1st COVID19 death in N Bengal; 6 Sikkim co-passengers tracked down

Guwahati: North Bengal’s first confirmed coronavirus patient from Kalimpong district, who was getting treatment at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) in Siliguri, breathed her last early on Monday morning.

Confirming this to EastMojo, principal of the NBMCH, Dr Pranab Kumar Deb, said that the woman patient tested positive on Saturday night. She was in an isolation ward and under observation in the hospital for the past 10 days. According to reports, she had a travel history to Chennai.

“It is confirmed that the patient died in the wee hours of Monday. She was under treatment in North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) since March 19 or 20. She tested positive for coronavirus on Friday,” Deb said. He, however, refused to divulge additional details, saying: “A team of experts from our institution is looking into the issue. Now, I can’t say anything more on that,” he added.

Following this, the total number of COVID-19 deaths in West Bengal increased to two so far, reports said.

Sources said that the 54-year-old woman from Kalimpong breathed her last around 2 am at the hospital. She had a travel history to Chennai.

As per reports, she had to travel to Chennai to accompany her ailing daughter recently. Both her daughter and the doctor, who was treating the woman, have been quarantined, the sources added.

Earlier, NBMCH confirmed North Bengal’s first confirmed coronavirus case late in the evening on Saturday. Elaborating on various precautionary measures, the NBMCH principal said that the hospital has altogether 10 suspected patients of coronavirus at its special isolation centre. Urging people to stay indoors and maintain social distancing, Deb further said that people should follow all standing norms to register win over the deadly virus. “Nobody knows what will happen to us tomorrow. Prevention is the best medicine for the masses. All prescribed rules and regulations should be maintained properly,” he said.

Meanwhile, the authorities in neighbouring Sikkim swiftly tracked down the six persons from the state who had travelled from Chennai to Bagdogra on March 19 in the same flight as the Kalimpong-based woman.

As reports of the Kalimpong-resident testing positive for coronavirus started doing the rounds, the health department concerned and the respective district administration in Sikkim swung into action and took details of the people travelling in the same flight.

Also Read: BREAKING: North Bengal’s first coronavirus positive patient dies

Six persons from Sikkim were found to have taken the flight from Chennai to Bagdogra. Two of them are from East Sikkim and four from West Sikkim.

District and health workers formed teams to track down the six persons and have established contacts with them.

The standard operating protocol is to place the six persons and their families under observation in quarantine (home or government facility) as per the situation and advice of the medical teams. Their samples may also be taken for testing depending on the situation.

It has been informed that details like how far the tracked person was seated from the infected person and whether they came in close contact would also be taken into consideration. These are the standard operating procedures in such situations and people should not panic, it has been appealed.