The Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) has sealed the maternity ward after a woman has died of COVID-19 10 days after delivery there.
Coordinator of the COVID-19 management committee in the hospital Dr Santa Kumar Das told Setopati that those who came into contact with the woman inside the hospital have been identified and will be tested. "We have listed everyone who came in contact with her. We are testing 45 persons who came into contact with her today," pulmonologist Dr Das said.
He added that the hospital is looking at all of her files. "We were busy in that throughout yesterday. We are investigating all the files including that of TUTH and even before that. She had apparently arrived two days before being admitted as well. She was admitted on May 5 and discharged on May 7," he elaborated.
He claimed that she had not showed any flu symptom including fever when she was discharged and developed problems five days after discharge. He argued that doctors and nurses who came into contact with her would also have developed symptoms by now if she were infected while at the hospital.
"We have individually asked everyone from the associates to doctors working in the maternity ward. Nobody has symptoms," he stated.
The woman should have been infected long before coming to TUTH and well past the phase when she was infectious or infected just before discharge if she were not infected after being discharged, doctors presume.
"We have sealed the maternity ward from today and will not open until PCR result of all the tests arrive. We will resume the ward only after disinfecting the whole ward."
He assured that the hospital is doing its best to try to stop spread of COVID-19. "This is a big hospital and we take temperature when patients arrive. We do screening twice or even thrice. But the problem is there can be asymptomatic cases as is happening all over the world."
He pointed that doing PCR test of everyone is not possible but assured that it is easier to take precautionary measures as the hospital is not crowded as in normal times.
He added that the hospital is also investigating about the girl from Kapilvastu who tested positive. "Her mom who hugged the kid to her chest and the kid's grandfather are not infected. But a visitor has tested positive. Just one of the 120 persons who came in contact with the kid has tested positive."
