How a funeral led to sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in Sangareddy

Hyderabad: Sangareddy district that used to report single-digit Covid-19 cases until June 9 has witnessed a surge in the number of patients. Sources said that the spike was witnessed following a funeral.

A 55-year-old woman, a native of Zaheerabad in Sangareddy district, died in Secunderabad on June 9. The following day, the lady’s funeral was held and 25 relatives attended it.

Things turned complicated after the test results of the deceased revealed that she was Covid-19 positive. Soon after, the relatives who participated in the last rites were quarantined and tested. On June 10, Sangareddy recorded 11 new cases, on June 12, another four cases, and on June 13, as many as 24 fresh cases were recorded.

According to the health officials, 19 out of the 25 relatives tested positive for Covid-19. While they were shifted to the district hospital in Sangareddy for treatment, the area where the 55-year-old woman lived was declared a containment zone.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Telangana government issued guidelines that only five family members should take part in the last rites of a Covid-19 victim. Meanwhile, the central government made it mandatory that funerals should not be attended by more than 20 people. In its guidelines released on May 5, the Centre said that large gatherings at the crematorium/ burial ground should be avoided and social distancing need to be maintained, since close family contacts may contract the virus.

Meanwhile, with 253 cases reported on June 13, Telangana reported a record high number of Covid-19 cases in a single day. Three days back, Telangana had reported over 200 new Covid-19 cases in a single day; however, the number of cases on Saturday has surpassed the previous day’s number.

With this, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state has reached 4,737, out of which 4,288 are local cases, while 449 patients are migrants and foreign returnees.

Further, Telangana reported eight new deaths on Saturday taking the toll in the state to 182. Meanwhile, the number of active cases in the state has reached 2,203.