Hyderabad: IT corridor in cold sweat as 2 more 'cases' surface in city

Hyderabad : The number of coronavirus positive cases in Telangana is set to increase from the existing one as freshly two more cases with borderline symptoms were identified. After the first sample reportedly tested positive in Gandhi lab, the second sample was sent to NIV, Pune for further revaluation. The Union Health Ministry in its bulletin issued on Wednesday stated that two cases with high viral load have been detected in Telangana while Telangana health authorities stated that Pune lab would give test results on Thursday. Meanwhile, 45 samples that were taken on Tuesday, most of whom are primary contacts to the infected Secunderabad techie including four family members, came out negative to the deadly virus.

In the two suspected cases with borderline symptoms, one is a woman IT professional working in Hi-tech city and other is a sanitation worker in Apollo Hospital, Secunderabad Both of them were kept in observation in Gandhi isolation ward while 45 persons, who tested negative were allowed to go home, but advised to stay in home isolation for two more weeks.

The techie, who returned from Italy, is working in DSM Shared Services that is located on the ninth floor in building number 20 in Raheja Mind Space Tech Park in Madhapur. Following this development, the firm had sent mail around noon to all its employees to leave the office premises and Work From Home (WFH). Few other firms in the same building including Qualcomm, Intel, Cognizant, L & T, Prolifics in the same building also followed suit and evacuated their staff creating a panic like situation in the IT corridor.

The woman techie returned to the city on February 28 and self quarantined herself after developing mild symptoms

The total strength of staff in that DSM office is 350. However, the team in which she works has a strength of 23 including her. All the 22 staff members from her team were told to be under home quarantine for 14 days by the health department while the remaining staff were told by health authorities to go about their daily business as usual. Her husband, who works in Duff and Phelps company located on the sixth floor in Purva Summit building in Madhapur is also put in home quarantine for two weeks. This firm has a staff strength of 65 members and rest all of them were told to get on with their regular duties without any worries.

Director of Health G Srinivas Rao stated that both the techie and her husband did not meet many contacts in the last four days, unlike the first infected case in which contract tracing list went up to nearly 90 members.

Four family members of the nCoV-19 infected techie (first positive case) and some medical staff from Apollo, Secunderabad who were in direct touch with him were found to be clear from the virus as sample results showed negative.