Coronavirus update: Telangana awaits results of two 'border-line' corona suspects

Hyderabad: Two days after the first case of Coronavirus reported in Hyderabad, the city seems to be overwhelmed by the corona scare. Two buildings in City’s IT hub Mindspace had evacuated employees after a suspected case of Coronavirus was reported in one of the companies in the IT park on March 4.

Putting an end to all speculations, Health Minister Eatala Rajender gave an update on the two new suspected cases. The minister confirmed that there was only one positive case of coronavirus in the state. “There is only one positive case of coronavirus in Telangana so far. Two samples of suspected cases are being sent to the National Institute of Virology Pune for further testing. Report of NIV Pune is expected tomorrow. They are been kept in Isolation ward in Gandhi Hospital.”

Nodal officer of coronavirus in Telangana, G Srinivas Rao said that the samples of the two 'borderline' suspects have been sent to Pune Virology Institute for retesting. “The tests from Gandhi show that these are borderline cases. However, we can confirm if the cases are positive only after the results from Pune come tomorrow morning,” he said.

One case is an employee from DSM Hyderabad employee who has foreign travel history to Italy. The second case is an Apollo hospital sanitary worker who was in contact with 1st Covid-19 Positive patient from Mahendra Hills.

536 suspected cases of coronavirus in Telangana till date

Telangana has 536 suspected cases of coronavirus, as of March 4. On Wednesday (March 4) alone, 91 suspected cases were reported in the state.

Among the 536 suspects, 343 people are in home isolation. As per the Health Department's official statement, 193 people are in hospital isolation, who showed symptoms of the virus. Among the 193 cases, 149 cases were tested negative, while results are awaited for 43 cases.

With regard to the COVID-19 positive patient, whose case was reported on March 1, 86 contacts have been traced out and kept under surveillance.

More than 18,000 passengers screened at Hyderabad Airport

Till date, as many as 18,667 travellers have been screened at Shamshabad airport, Hyderabad. Among this, 347 passengers have self-reported to the health department, as of March 4.

Speaking about the 24-year-old youth from Mahendra Hills who was tested positive the minister said, “Only the family members have complete chances to get affected. Even the family members who stayed in close contact with the patient were tested negative. No one from Telangana has got Coronavirus."

He further stated, "Awareness regarding the virus has been started by putting up hoardings. The helpline number 104 has been activated today where information regarding the Coronavirus will be known in few minutes. The 45 people tested negative have been sent back to their houses and will be under our observation."