New Delhi, April 16: A total of 68 doctors and nurses, employed at a government hospital in Delhi, were quarantined on Thursday after a patient admitted at the medical facility died. The deceased was suspected to be infected with COVID-19. As a precautionary measure, the health department has decided to quarantine the medical staff of the hospital to prevent transmission of coronavirus. COVID-19 Live Tracker: Map The Spread of Coronavirus in All Parts of India.

Preliminary reports claimed that the patient was admitted after the condition had deteriorated. The symptoms were similar to coronavirus but the official test reports were awaited. The death sparked an alarm in the hospital, with the officials deciding to quarantine the nurses and doctors as their first response.

Delhi, one of the severely hit regions in India due to coronavirus, has so far confirmed 1,650 cases. The numbers include 1,578 active patients, 42 discharged and 32 who have succumbed to death. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in his press briefing today, said the government is taking up all measures to minimise the number of casualties.

The CM announced that Delhi would be using plasma therapy in the coming days in bid to reduce the number of fatalities. "The decks have been cleared for the trial of plasma enrichment technique to start in next three to four days to treat seriously ill Covid-19 patients," Kejriwal said.

Nationwide, a total of 12,759 cases were confirmed till Thursday, as per the latest update released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The death count surged to 420. However, the numbers indicated a dip in the trajectory as the number of deaths and new cases dropped in the past 24 hours, as compared to the corresponding period a day earlier.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 16, 2020 07:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).