NEIGRIHMS temporarily shuts labour, casualty room after woman tests COVID positive

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJune 10, 2020

The North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) has temporarily shut down its casualty and labour room after a pregnant woman was tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.  

The woman and her husband had arrived in the state from Delhi on May 30 and had undergone the mandatory rapid antibody and RT-PCR testing as per state government protocol.

The husband was in MATI quarantine centre and the wife who was in her 3^rd trimester of pregnancy was home quarantined.

After 48 hours of initial testing they were both rapid antibody and RT-PCR negative. Therefore, the husband was released from MATI quarantine center and was also put on home quarantine.

However on June 6, the husband developed symptoms suggestive of COVID attended Shillong Civil Hospital where RT-PCR sample was taken and sent to NEIGRIHMS for testing and the patient was admitted in Shillong Civil Hospital.

On Tuesday, the wife also developed labour pain and was admitted in NEIGRIHMS. As per protocol, she was initially seen in the COVID screening area and since both her recent rapid test and RT-PCR were negative, she was referred to the labour room through casualty.

In a statement issued here, NEIGRIHMS nodal officer Dr Vijay Noel Nongpiur informed that on being informed by the state nodal officer that her husband’s second test had come out positive, the woman was immediately shifted to the designated COVID area and urgent PCT testing was done.  

“Furthermore, considering the high index of suspicion, the casualty and labour room visited by the patient were temporarily shut down and DHS (MI) was informed accordingly. The emergency testing done at NEIGRIHMS confirmed her to be COVID positive,” Dr Nongpiur said.

He informed that the casualty and labour room of the hospital as well as the approach to these areas are undergoing thorough cleaning and sanitization, as per the Government of India protocol and shall be operational shortly.

Dr Nongpiur further informed that contact tracing was immediately initiated In the hospital and other contact details were also shared with the state nodal officer for similar action, as per protocol.

Meanwhile, the Director of NEIGRIHMS Dr P Bhattacharjee has also convened an emergency meeting with senior officials to review the institute’s COVID preparedness.

All areas of the hospital, except labor ward and casualty are functioning normally.

According to the nodal officer of the institute, the labor ward and the casualty are expected to be running this evening.

“The patient is in the early stage of labor in the designated COVID section of the hospital and she is doing well. All medical support is being provided,” Dr Nongpiur informed.