An entire floor has been sealed off and sanitisation measures are underway at the Hyderabad Metro Rail Bhavan in the city's Rasoolpura area after a staff member working in the Telangana Chief Minister's Office (CMO) tested positive for the coronavirus. The latest COVID-19 case is unlikely to directly affect Chief Minister KCR as he mostly operates out of his camp office cum residence, Pragathi Bhavan, in Begumpet.
Sources said that the person who tested positive was working as personal secretary to a senior bureaucrat in the CMO. Staff members have been asked to remain in home quarantine and work from home, sources added.
Samples of those who came in direct contact with the staff member have been collected and results are awaited.
The CMO was working out of the Metro Rail Bhavan since August last year, after the state government issued instructions to vacate the premises of the Secretariat located next to Hussain Sagar, reportedly so that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao could go ahead with his plan of constructing a new Secretariat in the same place.
While some departments moved to the Burgula Rama Krishna Rao (BRKR) Bhavan, other departments shifted to various government buildings across the city.
At the time, the CMO shifted to the Metro Rail Bhavan and had taken up an entire floor in the building to function.
The latest incident comes even as Hyderabad continues to witness a spurt in cases and the Telangana government is going ahead with easing the lockdown, as per guidelines issued by the Centre.
Two hundred and six fresh cases and 10 deaths on Saturday, took the total tally in the state to 3,496, making it the highest single-day jump since the outbreak in March. Out of the 206 cases, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area accounted for 152.
Observing that there is a surge in cases in most of the districts across the state, a government bulletin requested the public to be alert and vigilant for any signs and symptoms of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) or Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).
"In case of onset of any symptoms of ILI or SARI, people are requested to immediately contact the nearest government health facility without any delay," it said, adding, "Please do not step out of the house unless essential," it said.
With PTI inputs
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