HYDERABAD: A traveller from London who tested positive for COVID-19 left the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport without informing officials on Friday morning after a British Airways flight landed in Hyderabad and passengers were tested as per protocols.
It is learnt that the woman passenger left without permission from the health staff. It is unclear if she was informed about her positive status by then or not. Her absence was realised only an hour later by which time she had hailed a cab and reached her home in Jeedimetla.
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“With the help of the medical team, we traced her address and reached her home. She was then shifted to TIMS hospital in Gachibowli,” said K Balaraj, SHO Jeedimetla. Her samples have been sent for genome sequencing where it would be checked if she is infected by the Omicron variant.
The error has had significant consequences as three others are now under the radar for having potentially contracted the virus -- the cab driver who drove her home and her two parents have been placed under home isolation.
Meanwhile, a total of 10 travellers reportedly tested positive at RGIA on Friday and were shifted to TIMS Hospital. The Director of TIMS Dr Vimala Thomas stated that the patients from abroad were asymptomatic and recovering well in the special isolation wards in the hospital. The status of the variant affecting these patients is unknown as samples have been sent to the designated labs for genomic sequencing.
It may be recalled that on Thursday a traveller on British Airways tested positive for the virus and was isolated at TIMS.
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