Sixteen persons including a five-year-old girl were identified and have been home quarantined, as they came in contact with a businessman in Hyderabad, who was tested COVID-19 positive on Sunday. The man, a resident of Saroornagar, is a trader of groundnuts and owns a shop in Malakpet. 

The sixteen persons include his primary contacts – his wife, two sons, brother, and brother-in-law. Others quarantined include his colleagues, house owner, neighbours, an auto driver, a doctor and staff from Jeevan Sai Hospital in Vanasthalipuram. 

According to the police, the patient identified as Patient 1029, was suffering from fever and cough since April 17. On April 20, he was taken to Jeevan Sai Hospital in Vanasthalipuram; four days later he was shifted to OMINI hospital in Kothapet. However, he wasn’t given any treatment. The same day he was shifted to Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, after being denied treatment there, too, he was taken to Yashoda hospital in Somajiguda, and test samples revealed that he was positive.

Speaking to TNM, Saroornagar Inspector E Srinivas Reddy said, “All the sixteen patients have been put under home quarantine. If anybody shows symptoms of the disease, they will be taken to the hospital.”

Telangana has a policy of not testing secondary contacts. Instead, the secondary contacts will be put under home quarantine for 28 days. 

“Only the primary contacts of the positive cases shall be brought to the government-identified quarantine centres and their samples will be taken for testing. The asymptomatic secondary contacts shall not be tested,” an order by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar released last week had stated.

It is yet unclear how the patient contracted the disease. Police suspect that he could have come in contact with a patient who had a link with the Tablighi Jamaat meeting. Malakpet in Hyderabad is a Muslim majority area, and recognised as a COVID-19 hotspot.  

Meanwhile, the patient’s health condition is stable, his family informed. Speaking to TNM, the patient’s son said, “My father has been video calling us every three hours, his health condition is stable.”

In Telangana, as of Monday, Hyderabad recorded 556 cases which includes 18 deaths, and most of these cases are related to the Jamaat congregation which took place in Delhi earlier in March. Hyderabad presently has 400 active cases, the most in the state followed by Suryapet.