Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Telangana Chintala Ramachandra Reddy has tested positive for the coronavirus and is undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad. His condition is stated to be stable.
According to hospital sources, the former MLA from Khairatabad was brought to the hospital on Sunday with suspected coronavirus symptoms. His swab samples, sent to a government-run hospital, were found positive.
After he tested positive, his wife and son too were admitted to the same hospital. Their samples have been sent for testing. He is the first prominent political leader in Telangana to test positive for the coronavirus.
Almost all COVID-19 patients are undergoing treatment at government-run Gandhi Hospital, the designated facility for treatment by the state government.
Some private hospitals have also been permitted to treat COVID-19 patients. They are required to follow the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) protocol. The health authorities are required to regularly monitor the status of patients in private hospitals.
However, they are not allowed to do COVID-19 testing. They send samples to Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) or other government-run hospitals.
The Telangana High Court had last week permitted private hospitals and laboratories to conduct COVID-19 tests, if approved by the ICMR. The court had found fault with the state government for not allowing private hospitals and laboratories to do the testing.
However, the health authorities have not yet issued orders for allowing tests in private hospitals.
Six more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Telangana, pushing the death toll to 88, while 94 fresh cases were reported on Monday, taking the tally of infections to 2,792
All the 94 cases were from different districts, with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation accounting for 79 of them, the health department said in a bulletin.
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With IANS inputs