Chhattisgarh: 68-year-old COVID-19 patient has no travel history

A 68-year-old man who tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur has no travel history beyond the city, health officials said on Friday.

He was one of the five people who tested positive on March 25, an official said.

"So far, sixpositive cases of coronavirus have been detected in the state. Of them, three, including two women, are from Raipur while the others are from Rajnandgaon, Durg and Bilaspur districts. Four are being treated in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur and two others at the hospitals in Bilaspur and Rajnandgaon," he said.

The 68-year-old patient has no travel history beyond Raipur, leading to fears that his infection may be a result of community transmission, officials said.

"We are ivestigating how he got infected," said Dr KR Sonwani, Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), posted here at the control room.

However, some of his kin keep travelling and, therefore, have been quarantined, he said.

Meanwhile, state Health Minister TS Singh Deo said it would be early to say if Chhattisgarh has reached the outbreak's third stage, that of community transmission.