Two people in Hyderabad — an employee of the multinational company DSM and a sanitation worker in Apollo hospital — have been suspected of having coronavirus, Telangana Health Minister Etela Rajendar told the media on Wednesday. While the DSM employee has travel history to Italy, the sanitation worker is believed to have come in direct contact with the Hyderabad techie who was confirmed to have coronavirus. Their first sample was tested at ICMR lab in Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad and the second round of testing will be conducted at National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.
Four relatives of the Hyderabad techie who was confirmed to have coronavirus who had submitted their samples for testing and have returned negative. The techie who had landed in Bengaluru from Dubai had later travelled to Hyderabad. While in Hyderabad, he developed fever and got admitted to Apollo hospital in the city.
Earlier on Wednesday, offices located inside building number 20 at Raheja Mindspace in Hyderabad, where the DSM employee works, were evacuated after word spread that one employee was suspected to have contracted coronavirus. The employees working in building 20, as well as building 12B and 12C of Raheja Mindspace were, asked to work from home.
Following this, the state government issued an advisory to companies in the state, asking them to avoid the use of biometric sensors as far as possible and also avoid non-essential travel. The government also asked employees to be alert and report any kind of symptoms to authorities. (Read here: Two more positive coronavirus cases in Hyderabad, govt issues advisory for companies)
The Telangana government had earlier on Wednesday stated that a total of 47 samples were sent for testing, out of which 45 samples have returned negative. The 24-year-old techie who has coronavirus is currently stable and is in an isolation ward at Gandhi Hospital.
The total number of cases in India have increased to 28 — 16 Italian tourists in Delhi, one Indian driver who drove them around, 6 people in Agra, one in Delhi, the three people in Kerala who later recovered, and the techie in Telangana. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan also announced that all passengers coming into India on international flights will be screened for coronavirus.