3 MORE POSITIVE CASES TAKE TS’ TALLY TO 19
The unabated surge of Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Telangana continued, with the TRS-led state government on Friday reporting three more cases of the disease, taking the total cases so far in Telangana to 19.
Two of the three cases announced on Friday are from the 10-member group of Indonesian Islamic preachers who were brought to the city from Karimnagar. Eight other members of the group have already been diagnosed as Covid-19 positive before. The third positive Covid-19 case announced by officials on Friday is that of an 18-year-old girl, who recently returned from London.
The health department said that the girl was first admitted to a private hospital, that later referred her case to the government. After admitting her to the TB & Chest Hospital in the city, tests were conducted on her, which showed that she was a Coronavirus positive patient. “The public,” the department said, “is requested to stay calm and not panic. State is taking all measures to contain the spread of the virus.” The government, however, did not release any data on number of people tested on Friday, the number of pending results, something it has been doing from early days of discovery of the pandemic in the state.
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The girl, learnt to be a resident of Gachibowli, returned home on March 17. For the next two days at home, she was in contact with a maid, besides members of her family and a driver. The residents’ association is tracing secondary contacts in the apartment complex to ensure that everyone gets checked for their health, it was learnt.
The Indonesian preachers had arrived in New Delhi on March 9, they then travelled to Bhopal, where they broke their journey. On March 14, they reached Karimnagar, travelling in the Sampark Kranti Express till Ramagundam, from where they took a private vehicle to Karimnagar.
They stayed in a mosque near the collectorate in Karimangar for two days and went around the city. It was on March 16 (their third day in Telangana), that some of the group members were identified as potential Covid-19 carriers and sent to the Gandhi Hospital for tests.
So far, according to the government, all Covid-19 cases in Telangana were of people who travelled from other countries to the state.
In an indication of how things might turn, the GHMC on Friday said that it had set up six teams, each headed by a senior corporation official, to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Two more teams have been kept in reserve and would be put into action if need arises, GHMC commissioner D.S. Lokesh Kumar said. These teams, he said, will coordinate with the state government and health department.
Meanwhile, health minister Etala Rajendar described the crisis as “one that is tougher than World War II. This disease can be contained only with people’s cooperation.” He was speaking at a meeting with members of doctors’ and private nursing homes associations.