4 TEST POSITIVE AT ADVANCED CANCER INSTITUTE IN BATHINDA

BATHINDA : A day after Punjab health minister OP Soni said that cancer treatment is going on smoothly at the Bathinda-based Advanced Cancer Institute, officials reported that four people have tested positive for Covid-19 at ACI.

Soni on Monday had said that 402 patients were registered at the OPD from May 1 to 8 after the Covid care centre was started at the ACI. He assured cancer patients that full care is being taken for their treatment.

However, four persons, including three of ACI hospital staff, are among four people who have tested positive since Monday. The ACI authorities were alerted about the infection status of the two staffers, including a laboratory technician, on Tuesday morning. An ambulance driver and a woman patient tested positive on Monday.

Healthcare experts have cautioned that starting the Covid care facility on the second floor of the ACI could cause the virus to spread at the institute. ACI director Dr Deepak Arora said he would take up the matter with authorities. “We are concerned about the health of our cancer patients. The line of treatment compromises the immunity level of a cancer patient, and they remain vulnerable to any infection,” he said.

Dr Raj Bahadur, vice-chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences said the cancer institute is continuously providing health care facilities to the cancer patients despite the institution has been announced as Covid care centre.