Sporadic COVID-19 cases are here to stay, says official after two deaths

The death of two people who tested positive for Covid-19 within 10 days revived memories of the epidemic and created public concern. However, health officials stated that sporadic infections were to be expected and there was no need to raise alarm.

The two patients, one from Rajampeta in Annamayya district and the other from Kadapa, had no recent travel history other than visits to nearby villages.

Kadapa District Medical and Health Officer Ravi Babu said that the 43-year-old patient from Kadapa was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Kadapa with complaints of bilateral pneumonia, fever and shortness of breath.

When his condition did not improve after five days of treatment, doctors performed a COVID-19 test in accordance with the protocol for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) patients. He died on July 7.

The district administration tracked and tested 28 contacts of the patient. Three of them were determined to be positive. Dr. All three are asymptomatic, stable and under home isolation, Ravi Babu said.

Those living in the area where the case was reported were advised to wear masks and comply with hand hygiene.

In Rajampeta’s case, the 52-year-old patient was admitted to the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore due to lung infection and bilateral kidney disease. He was also diabetic and hypertensive. He died on June 28.

Following the two deaths, the State Department of Health formed a Rapid Response Team to gather more information about the cases and set up a COVID-19 control room.

Director of Medical Education A. Vishnu Vardhan said superintendents of all Government General Hospitals have been instructed to allocate 10-bed isolation wards. Hospitals were also instructed to keep RT-PCR test kits, Remdesivir, personal protective equipment (PPE) and N95 masks ready as a precaution.

“During the pandemic, we realized that the virus was here to stay and occasional cases would continue to emerge. These two infections came to light only because the patients’ conditions worsened and they died. Otherwise, we might not have detected them,” said Mr. Vishnu Vardhan.

He reiterated that there was no need to panic. Wearing a mask is left to personal discretion, he said, and no travel restrictions have been imposed.

The Ministry of Health is waiting for genome sequencing reports to identify the variant involved in the two cases.