Four family members, including a four-year-old girl, who had come in contact with a head constable have tested positive for coronavirus in Hyderabad. The 56-year-old policeman, who works at the Saifabad police station, tested positive for the disease last week. He was residing at the police quarters in Punjagutta, which comes under Khairatabad constituency.
Tests carried out after isolating the constable’s family members and colleagues revealed that his family members – two sons, a daughter-in-law and granddaughter – had contracted the virus. This was confirmed by Khairatabad Corporator Vijaya Reddy.
Presently, the four affected are availing treatment at the state-run Gandhi Hospital, which is dedicated for coronavirus cases. The condition of all the patients is stable, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had informed on Saturday.
Speaking to TNM, Vijaya Reddy said, “The other family members are under home quarantine and the area has been cordoned off. No one is allowed to come out, all essential items are being supplied to them by a nodal officer.”
Talking about contact tracing efforts, the Corporator said that all the police personnel who were working with the head constable were home quarantined and have tested negative.
Interestingly, the constable has no relevant travel history, but he was reportedly very religious and used to attend prayers.
Five days ago, the constable tested positive for coronavirus. He had mild illness, however he continued to work and was posted at the Telugu Talli flyover, Tank Bund, to oversee the lockdown. When his health deteriorated, his family members took him to hospital for a check-up. After tests were carried out, it was revealed that he had COVID-19.
Telangana has reported 503 cases of coronavirus so far. With 14 deaths and 96 persons recovering, the state has 393 active patients presently. The government has also identified 243 COVID-19 clusters in the state. Among these, 123 are under the jurisdiction of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.