In a development that alarmed officials, 10 policemen including a Sub Inspector (SI) and nine constables tested positive for the coronavirus in Hyderabad on Thursday. All the policemen belong to the Banjara Hills police station and this is the first time that such a large number of them have tested positive in one go.
All those who came in contact with the police personnel, including their family members, have been asked to quarantine themselves and those who tested positive were shifted to the Gandhi Hospital for treatment, where a separate ward has been set up for policemen in the line of duty, testing positive.
The tests were conducted after a few personnel began exhibiting symptoms like fever.
Meanwhile, Telangana continued to witness a surge in COVID-19 cases on Thursday, with 209 fresh cases and nine deaths being reported, taking the infection count in the state to 4,320 and fatalities to 165.
Out of the 209 new cases, 208 were reported from different parts of the state, while one case was classified in the category of 'migrants, foreign returnees and others', a state government bulletin said.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, the hotbed of the infection in the state, accounted for 175 of the new cases.
The bulletin said 1,993 people have been discharged from the hospital, while the number of active cases stands at 2,162.
It's not just police officers. Several doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers have also tested positive for the coronavirus in Telangana.
After close to 100 junior doctors tested positive across Hyderabad last week, there was fear among frontline workers over the extent to which the virus had spread amongst them.
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PTI inputs