HYDERABAD: One more confirmed case of coronavirus was notified in Hyderabad on Saturday morning, taking the number of positive cases detected in Telangana till now to two. The person who has been confirmed to have contracted coronavirus had travelled from Italy and is presently admitted to the isolation ward in Gandhi Hospital.
Apart from this, two more suspected cases have been detected whose samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune and the results are awaited.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old techie who was the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Telangana has recovered and been discharged.
This information was shared by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in the ongoing session of the Telangana assembly.
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Lockdown in Telangana like other states?
The CM said that a high-level meeting of the Chief Secretary and secretaries from health and other government departments started in the morning to take stock of the existing situation in the state and the precautionary measures taken by neighbouring states and to take a decision on what measures need to be taken by Telangana. Also, a monitoring committee has been formed with senior IAS, IPS and IFS officers.
Rao pointed out that the neighbouring states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and nearby state of Odisha already took measures of shutting down malls, theaters, educational institutions and other public places and that Telangana also needs to decide what steps have to be taken.
Rao said that there have been only two confirmed cases in Telangana till now and there are no direct flights to Hyderabad from seven countries affected severely by the coronavirus from where arrivals have been banned by the central government (China, South Korea, Italy, Iran, Germany, Spain and France).
However, he said that not taking any precautionary steps might prove costly later and that the state government will have to take some steps regarding restrictions on public gatherings, functions, educational institutions etc.
The high-level meeting of Chief Secretary and secretaries from other departments will look into this to take a decision and inform the CM.
Cabinet meeting to take decision today evening
The CM also said in the assembly that a cabinet meeting will take place at 6 pm on Saturday where the decision will be taken as to what precautionary measures are needed to be taken next, in which the outcome of the high-level meeting of the CS and other secretaries will be considered. The cabinet will also consider the decisions taken by other states in containing the spread of the virus.
The cabinet will also take a decision on various other related issues, including taking a stock of availability and manufacturers of masks and protective gear against the virus for medical staff and doctors who are at the forefront of the battle against the virus.
200-strong staff at Hyderabad international airport to keep a tab on arrivals
Rao informed in the assembly that about 200 government staff have been deployed since a week at the Hyderabad international airport to implement measures as per protocol to control the spread of the coronavirus.
He said that the international airport receives more than 500 flights every day, including passenger, cargo and executive flights. Every day around 57,000 passengers arrive at the airport from various places in India and abroad. The air traffic at the airport has seen a rise of around 150 per cent since the state was formed.
Also, around four lakh passengers travel in the Hyderabad Metro Rail every day and lakhs of passengers are ferried by government and private buses in the state.
Rao said, keeping in mind these statistics, a decision needs to be taken on what further precautionary measures must be put into place in the state, like in other states.