Hyderabad: Telangana on Wednesday reported eight Covid-19 positive cases, including seven Indonesians, taking the total number of cases in the state so far to 13 and prompting Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar to call an emergency meeting on Thursday.
An Indonesian had tested positive on Tuesday.
The eight Indonesians were part of a 10-member group which had come to Telangana’s Karimanagar town earlier this week for a religious meeting.
Telangana’s health department released a special media bulletin on Wednesday night to announce that seven more have tested positive.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that a man who returned from the UK recently has tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19).
All the patients have been admitted to the isolation ward of the government-run Gandhi Hospital here. Their condition is stated to be stable.
The state has been reporting a positive case every day since last Saturday. However, Wednesday turned out to be the worst so far with eight people testing positive.
A techie, who tested positive on March 2, was discharged on March 13. All others are undergoing treatment at the Gandhi Hospital.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Wednesday night urged the people to be on alert after the Indonesians who travelled to Karimnagar tested positive for coronavirus.
He decided to convene a high-level emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the measures to be taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office, the meeting will discuss the preventive measures to be taken and regulations to be followed.
“Since coronavirus is spreading through those coming from abroad, all those coming from foreign countries should undergo tests. People should also be on alert and inform the authorities about those coming from abroad. People should also take measures for their personal health,” the statement said.
The Chief Minister has instructed the officials concerned to allow people coming from abroad to go home only after going through the complete check-up routine.
In the emergency meeting scheduled on Thursday, some more preventive measures will be decided.
The Chief Minister has urged people to stay away from festivals and celebrations involving group activities.
Prasanta Patnaik