An Eight-year-old boy who was admitted to the Institute of Child Health (ICH) as he had respiratory distress, later a nurse at the facility and the young boy tested positive for coronavirus.
At least 10 more nurses at the hospital’s neo-natal unit and a ward boy are currently down with a fever, the sources said. It is not known whether they are also infected with the coronavirus as their samples have not been collected yet.
The boy, a resident of Karaya Road, was rushed to the hospital on Thursday morning after he complained of uneasiness and breathing problems. His samples were sent for examination shortly thereafter.
According to the report of PTI, the father of 8-year-old-boy said that he has been suffering from breathing problems since birth and had no recent travel history.
“Ours is a small family of four and no one is ill. It’s surprising and shocking that my son got infected,” the father, a bank employee, said.
A senior official at the ICH said the boy’s parents were told to take him to MR Bangur hospital on Friday morning after he tested positive for the disease. His nose and throat swabs were sent to the Tata Medical Centre in Rajarhat for examination.
The 34-year-old nurse, who was also found to have contracted the disease, is a resident of Jibantala in South 24 Parganas, ICH sources said.
The mother of a six-year-old has been working at the neo-natal unit of the ICH.
All 10 nurses, who are down with a fever, are her colleagues at the unit, sources said.
A nurse at the facility, speaking on the condition of anonymity, complained that medical workers, who chose to stay back at the hospital amid the lockdown, were living in cramped quarters without proper protection.
