Telangana: Two more UK returnees turn Covid positive on Saturday

With this, the total number of Covid-19 positive cases from among the 1,216 passengers who reached here from UK has gone up to 18

Hyderabad: Two more travellers from the United Kingdom who arrived in Telangana after December 9 have tested positive for Covid-19. With this, the total number of Covid-19 positive cases from among the 1,216 passengers who reached here from UK has gone up to 18.

As part of the surveillance efforts, the health department has tracked 79 close contacts of the 18 Covid positive patients out of which three individuals have also tested positive. Samples of all the Covid positive patients have been sent to Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) for genome sequencing to ascertain whether they are infected with the new strain of the coronavirus i.e. B 1.1.7 or with the conventional strain of Covid-19.

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The travellers from UK who tested positive hail from different districts, according to Director of Public Health (DPH), Dr.G.Srinivasa Rao. Of them, four were from Hyderabad, six from Medchal-Malkajgiri districts, two from Jagityal and one each from Mancherial, Nalgonda, Rangareddy, Sangareddy, Siddipet and Warangal Urban.

Out of the 1,216 UK travellers who reached Telangana State after December 9, the surveillance teams have managed to track 937 individuals. “The other 92 travellers from UK who reached here belong to other States. We have informed their respective States and provided local authorities with passenger details. Apart from that, details of 184 UK travellers who reached Telangana are not available. There are no phone numbers or address of these individuals. Our surveillance teams are going all out to trace them,” Dr. G Srinivasa Rao said.

Authorities have urged general public to volunteer information on UK travellers to the call centre number 040-24651119 or WhatsApp to 9154170960.

The Covid positive patients are receiving treatment in exclusive health wards in government hospitals while their 79 close contacts are under institutional quarantine and their health is being closely monitored.

“In the fight against Covid-19, we have done extremely well in minimising the number of infections and deaths in Telangana. Tracking, testing and treating all the UK returned travellers is important to ensure there is no new strain of the coronavirus here. We urge people to co-operate and call helpline numbers to share information,” Dr. Rao added.

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