By Raju Vernekar
Mumbai, March 25
Eighteen new suspected coronavirus patients, including a doctor, were admitted to Mayo hospital and Government Medical College at Nagpur (Maharashtra), even as the first coronavirus infected couple, admitted to the PMC’s Naidu Hospital in Pune was discharged on Wednesday.
The couple which had returned from Dubai was admitted to the Naidu Hospital on 9 th March. However husband and wife responded to treatment and were fully recovered within a fortnight, giving much needed psychological relief to the doctors. While eight fully recovered patients were discharged from Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai on Tuesday, another 12 patients admitted to different hospitals, were in the process of being discharged on Wednesday.
Most of those admitted to hospitals in Nagpur had a travel history abroad and are suffering from cold and cough, even as number of positive patients in Maharashtra reached 112 on Wednesday.
In another development a 54 year old man passed away at Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, Tamil Nadu on Wednesday. He had a medical history of prolonged illness with steroid dependent COPD, uncontrolled diabetes with hypertension and was admitted on 23 March. He becomes the first victim of Covid 9 in Tamil Nadu.
Wednesday witnessed a subdued celebration of Gudi Padwa, which marks the beginning of New Year in Maharashtra, as people stayed indoors in view of the national lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a tweet in Marathi to greet people of Maharashtra for the festival. “People of Maharashtra are celebrating Gudhi Padwa. I wish them success, happiness and good health. May all their wishes be fulfilled this year,” he tweeted. Gudi Padwa is the first day of the month of Chaitra and marks the beginning of the New Year as per the Hindu calendar.
People hoisted the traditional ‘gudi’ – made of a bright cloth adorned with brocade (zari) tied to the tip of a long bamboo stick and a silver or copper pot placed in the inverted position over it – in their balconies and windows. But, they could not garland the gudi with flowers, mango and neem leaves as flower shops were shut and markets wore a deserted look. People were also not able to put up the traditional ‘toran’, a garland of marigold flowers, on their house doors. They also gave a miss to the other traditional ritual of tasting sour ‘neem chutney’, as markets were closed. The Gudi Padwa processions were also cancelled.