VISAKHAPATNAM: All 56 trainee engineers of China-based Panel Optic Technologies Private Ltd (POTPL) who are under observation in isolation wards of Manesar military hospital after their return from the locked down city of Wuhan, tested negative for coronavirus. They will be under observation for two weeks.
Jubilant parents, led by AVL Narasimha Rao, will seek an appointment with Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu during his visit to the city to thank him and urge his intervention for evacuation of two youths detained in Wuhan.
Jyoti from Nandyal in Kurnool and Satya Sai from Rajam in Srikakulam were detained at Wuhan as they were found to have body temperature more than normal during the final medical check before boarding Air India Boeing 737 flight along with other Indians at the Wuhan airport. The duo was sent back to their hostel at Wuhan with a promise that they will be flown to India once their body temperature stabilised, Chandra Sekhar, administrator of a WhatsApp group, said.
Narasimha Rao said they were waiting for the return of the two youths and for which they are seeking the government’s help. If the two are shifted to Beijing, “we can arrange for their travel from there to India”, he said.
Naga Raju, another parent, said details were being sought of the youth who are at the military camp so as to send them to their destinations. Blood samples of 512 Indians, including 56 from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, tested negative for coronavirus.
Central teams will be visiting the district on February 11 and 12 to review preparedness of the health officials and arrangements being made for isolation wards, district nodal officer Pardhasaradhi told TNIE. He said district medical and health officer Tirupati Rao was holding awareness camps for AASHA nodal officers, mid level health providers and doctors.
They received a directive about the safe procedure to be followed for collecting blood samples of suspected coronovirus cases, he added.
About 11 persons were under observation in their houses for the past one week; they have shown no symptoms of virus. However, they will remain under observation for one more week, he said.
Meanwhile, teams were deployed to the city airport to monitor the help desk and screen the international passengers, he said, adding there no suspect cases in the district till now. Port authorities have taken steps to screen and test the crew of foreign vessels.
People under observation
East Godavari 13
Visakhapatnam 11
Anantapur 9
West Godavari 8
Vizianagaram 7
Chittoor 4
Kadapa 2
One each in Srikakulam, Krishna and Nellore districts