Jaipur: Four Australian nationals, who arrived in Sawai Madhopur, tested positive for Covid, officials said on Thursday. The four Australian nationals have been admitted to the RUHS Hospital in Rajasthan capital Jaipur where their condition is stated to be stable. Dr Ajit Singh, Superintendent of RUHS Hospital, confirmed that four Australian citizens have been admitted to the hospital after they landed in Madhopur on Wednesday.
Three of the four Australians are asymptomatic while the fourth has symptoms, including sore throat and running nose, Dr Ajit Singh informed. He said that the patients tested positive through the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), which will be cross-checked with the RT-PCR test of the patients. The samples of the patients have been taken for the RTPCR test as a precautionary measure, Dr Singh said.
Also read: ICMR approves new RT-qPCR kit to detect influenza, SARS-CoV-2 & RSV
He also advised people to follow Covid standard operating procedure (SOP) and take precautionary measures vis a vis influenza virus. Right now, all four Australians have been admitted to the cottage ward of RUHS Hospital, the gene sequencing of the samples is also being carried out as a precautionary measure to confirm any possible new variant, which may pose a challenge.
The positive test reports of the four Australians come amid a resurgence of cases in Rajasthan. A total of 11 new cases of the Corona were found in Rajasthan on Wednesday. The number of Covid-19 infected patients is increasing gradually in Rajasthan. On March 1, there were only 10 active cases of Corona in Rajasthan that have jumped to 56 as of March 15 causing concern in the health department.
Pertinently, amid a rise in the incidence of influenza cases, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Thursday approved a novel RT-qPCR test kit to detect H1N1, H3N2, Yamagata and Victoria sub lineages besides Covid-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The test kit has been developed by Chennai-based KRIYA Medical Technologies.
