Covid-19 cases rise to 19 in Telangana

The number of Covid-19 cases in Telangana rose to 19 on Friday as three more persons, including two Indonesians, tested positive, officials said.

Two Indonesians, aged 27 and 60, were found positive for Covid-19, taking to 10 the total number of infected Indonesians. The 10-member group, said to be preachers, had stayed in Karimnagar town for two days.

They were undergoing treatment at government-run Fever Hospital and their condition is stated to be stable.

Earlier in the day, a 18-year-old woman who recently arrived from London was tested positive. According to the health department, the woman, a resident of Hyderabad, was referred from a private hospital and was admitted to the Chest Hospital. Her condition is stated to be stable.

For nearly a week, the state has been reporting Covid-19 positive cases every day. Three cases were reported on Thursday. Two of them had recently returned from London.

One Indonesian was tested positive on Tuesday while eight persons including seven Indonesians were found infected the next day.

As the Indonesians had stayed in Karimnagar town for two days, the health authorities rolled out cluster containment plan in the tow by screening over 25,000 people but no one showed any symptoms of Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao decided to visit Karimnagar on Saturday to instill confidence among people and also monitor the measures taken to contain the spread of Covid-19. He is likely to visit the affected areas and also hold a review meeting with the officials.

The Chief Minister on Thursday announced new measures to combat Coronavirus. He announced that all those who returned from abroad after March 1 would be screened. He asked all such people to report to authorities and also announced setting up of committees at village and town level to identify foreign returnees and place them under home isolation.

Any person who has returned from any foreign country or has been in transit shall be in self home quarantine for 14 days from the time of arrival in India, irrespective of having any symptoms or not, the Health Department said.

Any person who has been in contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19 must also remain in home isolation for 14 days.