BENGALURU: State health officials have swung into action and are tracking down individuals who have possibly come in contact with the Telangana techie who tested positive for COVID-19. The techie, who works in Bengaluru, flew in from Dubai and travelled to Hyderabad a fortnight ago. Within 24 hours of the coronavirus alert, the state tracked down the personal details of where the techie was working, residing and who were the associates who had come in contact with him.
At least 15 people travelled on the flight with the techie from Dubai to Bengaluru, one cab driver ferried him home from the airport, 25 people worked with him in the office and 23 travelled with him on the bus to Hyderabad from Bengaluru, besides 20 others who belong to Telangana. They are all being tracked and kept under home isolation. Of the 25 colleagues, one is found to be symptomatic and is admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) and a sample has been sent for testing.
Interestingly, a purported email sent from the roommate of the Telangana techie to his office, Intel, was leaked on social media, causing it to go viral. The email reads, “As per recent news, the corona-affected Telangana techie (Bengaluru-based) was my flatmate. As the news is recent, I’ve to get myself checked for any infection which may have occurred during his short stay here. I’ll be taking sick leave today as this is an urgent matter. Until reports arrive, I would like to work from home for the safety of the team and site members.”
The roommate, who has been quarantined at home, reportedly got himself tested at RGICD and the tests reported negative. Health officials dismissed a message which claimed that he was also suffering from fever and was admitted to hospital.
According to residents of the apartment complex in which the techie from Telangana stayed, he was in Bengaluru on Febraury 19 and 20. His roommate out of fear, rushed to RGICD on Tuesday morning to check if he too had contracted the virus.
The act sent more fear among residents of the apartment complex as they assumed that there were two cases. They breathed a sigh of relief when they learnt that the roommate’s test reports were negative.