Employees wear masks as prevention against coronavirus, in Hyderabad on Wednesday. (PTI)
Two new suspected coronavirus cases were reported in Hyderabad on Wednesday, and the duo’s samples were sent for a second round of tests — and confirmation — to National Institute of Virology, Pune, after both persons tested positive in the first round of testing at Gandhi Hospital here.
Forty-five others, who underwent first round of tests at Gandhi Hospital, tested negative, officials said.
Explained: How to handle the coronavirus (COVID-19) scare
One of the two who tested positive works for an IT firm at Mindspace Madhapur, the IT zone in Hyderabad. After this employee tested positive, the building was evacuated and all offices in it were cleaned and disinfected.
After the two fresh cases emerged, all IT companies in Hyderabad issued an advisory on Wednesday and suspended all foreign travel of employees with immediate effect. Employees have been advised to work from home until further instructions, and those suffering from cold or fever advised check-up.
Policemen outside the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, Tuesday. (Source: PTI)
On Sunday, a software engineer from Hyderabad who works in Bengaluru had tested positive in the city. He had returned to Bengaluru from Dubai on February 20 and had arrived in Hyderabad by a bus the following day.
Officials of Telangana Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department said 47 people, including many unrelated to the first case (the techie who tested positive on Sunday), were tested at Gandhi Hospital on March 3. “Forty-five (of these) samples were found negative. Two samples are being sent to NIV, Pune, for further tests; the report is expected on Thursday. Both are being kept in isolation at Gandhi Hospital,” state Health Minister Etela Rajender said.
“The 45 people who tested negative were discharged and advised strict home isolation for 14 days. The techie (who works in Bengaluru) who first tested positive on Sunday is stable,” the minister said.
The Telangana government has scaled up prevention measures, and hundreds of municipal and sanitation workers have been pressed into service across the state capital to clean up and carry out fumigation.
In Secunderabad, several schools and offices remained closed for the second successive day on Wednesday. The 24-year-old techie who tested positive on Sunday resides in Mahindra Hills area of Secunderabad.
Social activists in Patna distribute masks to check the spread of coronavirus. (PTI)
Techie under observation
Hyderabad: A techie from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, who works in Hyderabad, was admitted at the government hospital in the district with suspected symptoms of coronavirus. He had returned from Seoul, South Korea, on February 22, officials said.
An official said he was screened at New Delhi airport upon landing from Seoul and did not show any symptom at the time. This techie subsequently flew to Hyderabad and went to his native place in Kakinada on February 27 to attend a wedding function. As he was suffering from cold, doctors at the hospital kept him under isolated observation, officials said.
J&K authorities set up an isolation ward for suspected coronavirus cases in Srinagar. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
Two with travel history to Italy, S Korea quarantined
Jammu: Two passengers with a travel history to Italy and South Korea were on Wednesday shifted to the quarantine ward at the Government Medical College Hospital (GMC) here as a precautionary measure. GMC principal Dr Sunanda Raina said both the passengers had arrived on a flight from Delhi and during self declaration at the airport, they were found to have travel history to Italy and South Korea — countries affected by the novel coronavirus. “Their samples were collected and sent to AIIMS, Delhi,” Raina said. “We will get their reports within 36 hours.” In view of the coronavirus threat, the J&K administration has put the Union Territory on high alert, with government introducing 100 per cent self declaration by passengers at Jammu and Srinagar airports in order to trace passengers with travel history to countries affected by coronavirus. Pointing out that there was no cause for panic, officials said all systems are in a state of high alert and back-up facilities are in place to deal with any eventuality.
Police personnel wear masks as prevention against coronavirus in Lucknow. (Expres photo by Vishal Srivastav)
Uttar Pradesh: 2,773 under surveillance, 7 with symptoms
Lucknow: As many as 2,773 travellers from coronavirus-affected countries have been identified by surveillance units in various districts of Uttar Pradesh and all have been placed under surveillance, the UP Directorate of Health Services said on Wednesday. Of these, 2,303 who travelled from 12 specified countries have been found to be residing in the state. While seven of them are symptomatic of viral infection and have been admitted at various hospitals — five in Lucknow and two at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital — 697 are in stable condition, and 690 others are under isolation in homes, the directorate said, adding that the condition of all of them is stable.
So far 175 samples have been sent to NIV, Pune, and Lucknow’s KGMU for testing, it said. “… UP government has strengthened the surveillance and control measures…” the Directorate of Health Services said.