Another two passengers detected at BIA: BIA Medical Unit

By Chaturanga Samarawickrama, Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya and T.K.G. Kapila   
Another two more passengers,  suspected to be infected with corona-virus , was detected yesterday evening at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) , BIA medical unit Dr. Chandika Bandara Wickramasuriya said.   

He told Daily Mirror that both the passengers arrived on flight UL-315 from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.   

Both were transit passengers-one en route to the Middle-East and the other to Pakistan.   

“The pilot was informed about the 47-year-old Indonesian woman with difficulty in breathing by a Cabin crew member.  She was shivering , a symptom of the coronavirus infection. The pilot immediately informed the control unit before landing ,” the doctor said.   

He said after the landing, the medical unit at BIA checked the patient’s temperature. The temperature recorded 104 Fahrenheit.   

Another 38-year-old Pakistani national from the same flight was detected by the Thermal Image Scanners (ITIS) placed at the arrival lounge and he was found with a high fever of 102.2 Fahrenheit which is higher than the normal body temperature.   

The Pakistani passenger was en route to Pakistan from Malaysia.   

Both patients were rushed to the Angoda Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH - Fever Hospital) to test whether they were infected with the coronavirus.   

Earlier, five patients who had been admitted to the IDH on suspicion of Coronavirus infection had been kept under observation although they were recovering and the initial reports were negative, Senior Epidemiologist of the Epidemiology Unit Dr. Sudath Samaraweera said yesterday.   

Four people including two Chinese nationals are being examined at the Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH) in Colombo on suspicion that they were infected by the Coronavirus.   
A Sri Lankan male and a female and two Chinese women were admitted to the IDH showing symptoms of cold and sore throat.   

Dr. Samaraweera said they did not show severe symptoms but were being monitored.   

“We are conducting tests on them. They were admitted because as a precautionary measure as they had returned from the Wuhan city,” Dr Samaraweera said.   

“They are recovering but we can’t exactly say that they are not infected by the Coronavirus until the reports indicate conclusively,” he said.   

“Samples have been sent to the Medical Research Institute (MRI) and reports would be received within two days,” he said.   

The Coronavirus that was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan has now spread to the USA, France, Nepal, Thailand, Japan, North Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, and India.   

The death toll in the outbreak of a new Coronavirus in China has risen to 56 and a number of people have been infected has risen to 1,975.