KHULNA, April 20, 2020 (BSS) – A total of 201 more coronavirus tests were carried out here yesterday as two doctors of Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) were found infected with the virus, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the division to eight.
Two assistant professors of KMCH was found COVID-19 positive after testing samples at the COVID-19 Molecular Laboratory installed in the KMC’s Microbiology Department here on Sunday, said KMC’s Vice-Principal Dr Mehedi Newaz.
“We received 201 samples of suspected coronavirus in the last 24 hours in division and all were tested, as two assistant professors of KMCH were detected COVID-19 positive,” he said.
Dr. Newaz said that two infected doctors were sent to Khulna Diabetic Hospital for quarantine.
Earlier, another doctor of KMCH was detected positive of COVID-19.
So, the number of COVID-19 infected patients’ in the division stood at 8, he said, adding that, of them, four in Khulna and one each in Chuadanga, Bagerhat, Narail and Jashore districts.
Meanwhile, after three doctors of KMCH were infected with the lethal virus, KMC’s Hostel, its administrative block of academic building, teachers’ lounge, guest house and dormitory were put under lockdown, deputy commissioner of Khulna Helal Hossain said in a press release.
However, a total of 806 samples of COVID-19 suspects have so far been tested since April 7 at the laboratory, said Assistant professor Dr Tushar Alam, Focal Point of COVID-19 Molecular Laboratory.
“We are smoothly testing samples of suspected COVID-19 infected patients with assistance of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) at the COVID-19 Laboratory,” he said.
The civil surgeon, superintendents of KMCH and Surveillance Immunization Medical Officers of the World Health Organisation are strictly monitoring and supervising the sample collection process at the grassroots levels, he added.
A team of trained technologists is collecting samples and testing those to detect coronavirus, said Dr Shahnaj Parvin, Head of the Department of Microbiology of KMC.
The collected samples are being tested in the laboratory here through using the PCR machine to get correct results and accordingly the results are being sent to the IEDCR in Dhaka every day, she added.