The first COVID-19 casualty in India came in contact with at least 34 persons in Telangana during his visit to three private hospitals in the city on March 10. The 34 persons include staff from hospital, and ambulances that he had travelled in. More contacts may surface as the Telangana Health department staff are trying to trace with whom he came in contact.
Director of Public Health G Srinivas Rao said the 34 contacts were kept under home isolation. “Their condition is stable as of now and they are under active surveillance,” Dr Rao said.
Sources said that since it was only three-four days since he came in contact with the people, they might show symptoms in the coming days if they contracted COVID-19. Incubation period of the disease is one to 14 days.
“Samples were not collected from them. As their condition is being monitored, samples will be collected if any of them show symptoms of the infectious disease,” sources said.
The Kalaburagi man, who had stayed in Saudi Arabia from January 29 to February 29, landed in Hyderabad, and was headed for Kalaburagi. He developed the symptoms on March 6 and got admitted to a private hospital there. Samples were collected and sent for tests to Bengaluru.
However, the family got him discharged against medical advice (DAMA), and the brought him to Hyderabad on the morning of March 10. He was a known case of hypertension and asthma. At the hospitals, doctors identified him to be suffering from acute respiratory illness, cold, cough and fever.
They took him to at three hospitals in the city. One among them is CARE Hospitals in Banjara Hills. The hospital authorities said that he was isolated, and their healthcare professionals wore Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) while attending him
“He came to the Emergency department and was immediately shifted to an isolation room, equipped with negative air pressure and HEPA air filters as per international guidelines to prevent any further transmission.,” as per a media statement from the hospital.
They said that although the risk to life, if not admitted, had been explained to his family, they decided to take the patient back to their native place against medical advice. Health officials were informed of the case. Employees of the hospital who were suspected to have been around the patient are under home quarantine.
He died on the way back home on the night of March 10. Even before the declaration of his test result on Thursday, he was considered a high-risk case as he suffered from acute respiratory illness, fever and cough, and had travel history to Saudi Arabia.
The process of tracing the contacts started late on Thursday night soon after news broke that the 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi who died tested positive for coronavirus which causes COVID-19. Calls were exchanged between officials, staff, and private hospitals managements. Officials said there could be more people who could have got in contact with the 76-year-old.
