GUJRAT: Local authorities have sealed two health facilities, including the Government Maternity Hospital (GMH), Gujrat, and the Basic Health Unit (BHU) of Fatehpur where all medical services have been suspended due to reported cases of Covid-19 among patients and staff.

Swabs of around 300 expecting mothers were collected during random sampling in the district in the last few days. Of them 28 tested positive on Thursday while results of over 200 are awaited. The GMH was among those health facilities where the rate of infection among pregnant women was alarming

A health department team on Thursday collected samples of the staff and doctors of the maternity hospital, where heath services had already been suspended.

Disinfection was carried out at the GMH which may resume services soon, said an official of the health department.

In Fatehpur, a nearby small town, the authorities have also sealed the private clinic of the BHU medical officer.

A major of groceries along Bhimbher Road were sealed by the authorities on Thursday after three salesmen tested positive. Two staff members of a bakery in Muslim Bazaaar also tested positive but the outlet was not sealed.

The health teams carried out random sampling at some major groceries and highway truck hotels along GT Road in Kharian and Lalamusa where swabs of their staff members and customers were collected on Thursday.

Meanwhile, 20 new positive cases surfaced in Gujrat on Thursday.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2020