The first death of a person who tested positive for coronavirus was recorded in Telangana on Saturday. A 74-year-old man with travel history to New Delhi died at a corporate hospital in Hyderabad. Samples collected from him tested positive for the virus. His family members too would be screened to know if they contracted the infection.
Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajender said the 74-year-old man had visited a masjid in Delhi. He had a history of a pneumonia. He got admitted to a corporate hospital for treatment, not as a COVID-19 patient, and died there.
“As he had travel history to New Delhi and had the symptoms, we had collected the samples which tested positive for coronavirus,” Mr Rajender said.
Six of a family affected
Meanwhile, eight new COVID-19 cases were detected in the State, taking the total number to 67, including the 74-year-old man. Other fresh positive cases include six members of a family in the old city. Four of another family in Quthbullapur and four Central government and State government employees who used to screen passengers at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport also contracted the virus. The virus spread to their family members too.
Mr Rajender expressed displeasure over air passengers who had taken paracetamol to suppress fever and evade detection of high body temperature during the thermal screening.
Ten persons tested negative after they were isolated and provided with symptomatic treatment. They should test negative in the second consecutive test before they are discharged. One person, the index (first) case from the State, was discharged a few weeks ago.
As on Saturday, around 13,000 people were in quarantine.
Referring to wide-spread messages about red zones in and around Hyderabad, Mr Rajender said that there were no such red zones.
On detection of a positive case in a locality, Health department teams would take up active surveillance in certain radius of the patient’s home. Depending on the radius which varies from urban to rural locality, the places are marked ‘containment zones’ and ‘buffer zones’.
The teams go door to door to find if any one is suffering from fever, cough, cold or other symptoms. However, photos of banners stating a particular place as ‘red zone’ were circulated on WhatsApp and Twitter. The Health Minister said orders were issued to remove the boards or banners.
