DIBRUGARH, July 5 - Spurt in the number of Covid-19 cases has taken a serious turn at St Joseph�s Convent, the attached residence of Vincenza Gerosa (VG) Hospital here, with at least 11 nuns and one domestic staff testing positive for coronavirus today, following detection of only one case (Sister Angela Maria) on July 2, putting the total infection cases in the convent at 13.
All the cases are close contacts of Sister Angela Maria, the superior of the house with travel history to Guwahati. A majority of the infected nuns were actively involved in serving and attending to patients both in the VG Hospital and the nearby Psychiatric Department of their society. Among those detected positive today, three nuns are above 80 and one is above 70, while the rest are below 60 years of age.
The detection of positive cases in the convent has created a panicky situation in the area as several patients come to the hospital for treatment. The nuns also run a nursing school with hostels for the students and serving nurses.
The hospital has nearly 100 supporting staff, besides the residential and visiting doctors. The business community nearby are also distressed at the outbreak of the contagion disease as several nursing students and other employees of the hospital do their shopping in the area. The hospital area, except the psychiatric department, has remained sealed for the purpose of containment since the detection of one positive case on July 2.
Dr Nabajyoti Gogoi, Joint Director of Health Services informed that due to the large number of employees, inmates of the hospital and other contacts of the infected, collection of samples for testing was continuing till this afternoon.
Priests from nearby Don Bosco Higher Secondary School who often visited the convent to offer prayers for the sisters also presented themselves in the hospital to allow the medical team to collect samples from them.
Altogether, 18 positive cases were detected in the district last night. Reports of other six positive cases came from Tashi Hotel quarantine (1), Dibrugarh Hotel quarantine (2), CISF, Namrup (1) and home quarantine in Duliajan (2). The total number of coronavirus infection cases in the district has therefore climbed to 225 till the time of filing this report.
