HYDERABAD: Smoking is known to cause cancer, but in these times, sharing a cigarette with a colleague or a friend might land you in hospital for Covid-19 as well. It came to light on Thursday that two persons ended up in Gandhi Hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 as they shared cigarettes with their common friend, whose family had tested positive for the viral disease.
The three friends, residents of Shadnagar, used to share cigarettes regularly and it is believed that is how the infection spread. All three are being treated at Gandhi Hospital. When contacted, Rangareddy Deputy DMHO Dr Chandu Naik said there are eight persons from Shadnagar taking treatment at the Gandhi Hospital for Covid-19. Of these, six belong to a single family, which includes one 25-year-old youth. The family had tested positive after they attended a funeral in Jiaguda, which has emerged as a cluster. The 25-year-old youngster was close friends with two other youth who used to reside near his house.
After the family of six tested positive, district authorities started contact tracing and came to know that the 25-year-old used to regularly meet up with his two friends and had met them after returning from Jiaguda as well. It also came to light that all three used to share cigarettes regularly, making the two youth highly susceptible to virus transmission.
117 new cases, 4 deaths in TS I