HYDERABAD: More than 800 foreign returnees who work in the IT sector of the city, including foreigners who come to the city as guests of various companies, have been put in self-isolation in view of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking to Express, IT and Industries Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said, “As of last week, 800 returnees from other countries who work in the IT sector have been put in isolation. This includes foreigners too.”
Ranjan added that this measure has been in place since the beginning of March and everyone in question is being asked to be in isolation for 20 days. Latest figures of the number of people from the IT sector isolated will be released soon, government officials said.
An official from Society for Cyberabad Security Council (SCSC) said that the companies in which these employees work, are monitoring to ensure they adhere to isolation. “We have shared with them the advisory and have told them that every individual has to be quarantined,” he said. There has been an increase in stigma in the IT sector against foreign returnees. This after an IT employee was sent to Gandhi Hospital after being found with symptoms of Covid he later tested negative).
On Saturday, IT Minister KT Rama Rao appealed to industry representatives to report to the government about employees who have come back from overseas trips.