KGMU nurse tests corona positive, CCU sealed

Lucknow : The entire critical care unit (CCU) of King George's Medical University (KGMU) trauma centre, where 14 patients are admitted, has been sealed and the 25 staff members, including doctors, have been quarantined after a 51-year-old nurse tested positive for Coronavirus on Sunday night.

A resident of Nakkhas locality, the nurse is the fourth medical professional in the city and second from KGMU, to test Covid-19 positive.

Three other positive cases were also reported in the city on Sunday, all of them being natives of other districts. They include a 62-year-old government doctor and his 57-year-old wife from Orai (parents of a KGMU MBBS student) and 35-year-old man from Shravasti. The 35-year-old is the son of the elderly patient who died of Covid-19 during treatment at SGPGI on Sunday afternoon.

All the eight family members of the KGMU nurse and three other people with whom she was in contact have been asked to self-isolate themselves at home.

The entry and exit points of the lane where her home is situated have also been barricaded.

KGMU chief spokesperson Dr Sandeep Tiwari, said on Monday, "The nurse was on duty when she developed symptoms of fever and cough on Saturday. We immediately admitted her to the isolation ward and sent her swab samples for test. The report on Sunday confirmed the infection."

Dr Tiwari said the CCU has been sealed and fresh admissions have been stopped.

"The 25-member team, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and sanitary workers, has been quarantined and a new team has taken charge of patients. Swab samples of the staff and patients have been sent for tests," he added.

This is the third time that since Corona outbreak that the KGMU had to seal one of its departments because of threat of exposure to infection. CMO Dr Narendra Agarwal said authorities are tracing from where the nurse caught infection.