SHILLONG: Ten more staff of the prestigious NEIGRIHMS have tested positive for COVID-19 of whom nine are asymptomatic.
NEIGRIHMS Director Dr P Bhattacharya said that the staff are contacts of the index case, a patient who had come for orthopedic treatment in the hospital but later tested positive.
The institute tested 51 people out of whom 10 turned out to be positive.
According to the Director, the staff were first tested on July 11 and they tested negative. They were again tested on July 17 and the outcome was the same, but the institute continued to keep them under quarantine.
He said that they were about to be released, but the institute decided to run another test and they turned out to be positive. “The others who tested negative will be released,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Director also informed that the microbiological laboratory of the institute would be closed for two days for regular maintenance work.
He said that the samples which were collected on Monday will be tested once the lab reopens on Wednesday.
Nazareth clarifies on doc
The Nazareth hospital administration has said that the reports of both the RT-PCR and CB-NAAT machines are identical and the accuracy of both the tests are similar.
The statement came from the Nazareth hospital on Monday following the confusion as the status of a doctor from the Hospital, remains unresolved till now.
The Chief Medical Officer of the Hospital, Dr. G Rangad said, “It is not a question of we are sticking to the report of the test conducted from CB-NAAT machine.”
He said the concerned doctor was under home quarantine even before the reports of the two tests came out. “I want to clarify that the concerned doctor was not exposed to many patients. It will also not affect the public in any way since the doctor is no longer visiting the hospital as he is under home quarantine,” Rangad said.
Admitting that there is confusion in the minds of the people since there are two separate reports, Rangad said he will be reaching out to the Director of Health Services (MI), Dr Aman War to clear the confusion once and for all.
