Two more coronavirus cases suspected in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Two days after a 24-year-old software professional was confirmed as the first case of Covid-19 in Hyderabad, two more suspected cases tested positive in the first round of testing at the ICMR laboratory at Gandhi Medical College in Secunderabad. The samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, for final confirmation. Across India, 23 new cases were recorded on Wednesday, taking the total number of positive case to 29.
State health authorities also said that the first Covid-19 positive patient was stable even as 39 more with symptoms were isolated at Gandhi Hospital and Fever Hospital on Wednesday. Another 55 people, who approached authorities for tests, were advised to quarantine themselves at home for 14 days.
The two new cases whose samples have been sent to NIV include a software professional from Raheja Mindspace in the IT hub who had visited Italy. The other is a sanitation worker at Apollo Hospitals at Secunderabad where the first positive patient had been treated initially. "The NIV report is expected on Thursday evening," said Dr G Srinivas Rao, Telangana director public health.
45 who tested negative discharged, isolated at home
The two patients are being kept in isolation at Gandhi Hospital. The 45 others who tested negative were discharged and advised strict home isolation for 14 days.” On Wednesday, state health minister Eatala Rajender asked IT professionals and others not to panic. “Currently we have only one confirmed positive case,” he said. “The two others are yet to be reconfirmed. The extensive sanitisation activity at Mahendra Hills is also a precautionary measure. We are not taking any chances. We are following protocol for surveillance but that doesn’t mean the virus has spread.”
Meanwhile, 20 private medical colleges with 1,000 beds have also been roped in to house suspected Covid-19 patients.