Coronavirus Suspicion: 7-month-old in isolation ward

A seven-month-old baby was put in an isolation ward at Kushtia General Hospital on suspicion of coronavirus infection yesterday.

Tapas Kumar Sarkar, resident medical officer (RMO) of the hospital, said family members brought the girl to the hospital on Wednesday. The infant has fever, cold and cough.

She was admitted to the pediatric ward for treatment. As the baby's condition worsened yesterday, doctors started treating her for pneumonia, he added.

The RMO said doctors and nurses repeatedly questioned the family members whether any of the relatives returned to the country recently but they denied.

Yesterday, the family, however, admitted that the baby's father was an expatriate who returned to Bangladesh from Singapore on March 9 and since then he had been living with his family, the RMO said. "So, we have taken the baby to an isolation unit," he added.

As the news spread, most family members of the baby, including the father, fled from the hospital premises.

Kushtia Deputy Commissioner Aslam Hossain said they are trying to put all the family members in quarantine.

Asked, Kushtia Civil Surgeon Anwar Hossain said they are also trying to trace the doctors and nurses involved in treating the baby since the period of her admission to the hospital. He said the hospital has a 20-bed isolation unit, PPE and other equipment for doctors and nurses to treat patients.

"We have also informed the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR). They will collect the child's samples soon," the civil surgeon said.