As of Friday, the Telangana government began the process of tracing all foreign returnees with travel history for the months February and March. As part of precautionary measures, 12 Vietnamese nationals from Nalgonda district and 13 Kazakhstan nationals from Hyderabad were moved to Fever hospital on Friday.
The 13 Kazakhstan nationals arrived in Delhi this February and arrived at Hyderabad by train. They were residing at a mosque in Chandrayangutta. On Friday, a team of ward, health and police officials visited the mosque and screened them for coronavirus symptoms.
Speaking to TNM, the Deputy Commissioner for Chandrayangutta, Shirley Pushyaragam said all 13 members are healthy and the doctors have screened them. “They have been taken to Fever hospital isolation ward as a precautionary measure for 14-day quarantine. They were all part of a Quran learning group. We only did oral enquiry and just checked the temperature,” the official said. Under the Chndrayangutta limits in Hyderabad, there are 45 foreign returnees, while the official has so far managed to visit 25 passengers.
The 12 Vietnam nationals and two Indians from Nalgonda who were part of the group have also been shifted to Fever hospital isolation ward. India Today, reported that the group was asymptomatic of the coronavirus disease. The two Indian men are from Kerala and Maharashtra and all 14 were part of a religious mission.
As of Thursday, the state formed teams consisting of municipal, panchayat, revenue, health and police officials along with doctors, who are going door to door across the state tracing all foreigners including Indian returnees from abroad. Municipal heads of every city circle in Hyderabad were issued lists consisting of passengers details for March on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, lists containing passenger details for the month of February were issued.
H Krishnaiah, the Deputy Commissioner, Saroornagar circle, told TNM that out of the 95 foreign returnees, he has been able to trace only 65 passengers. “The houses are locked, some of these people have to be under mandatory quarantine. But we are not able to track them, we will be going to their homes tomorrow to see if the houses are still locked,” said the official.
Another official, who did not wish to be named, said that they are facing resistance at certain homes. “Those with travel history before the mandatory quarantine order are unwilling to be screened. They face discomfort because a lot of officials come together, they feel intimidated and fear social rejection and humiliation,” said the officer.