First Coronavirus death in Telangana, 8 more test positive

 Telangana on Saturday reported first death due to coronavirus while eight more persons tested positive, taking the total number to 67.

A 74-year-old man from Hyderabad became the first person to die of coronavirus in the state.

The positive cases reported on Saturday include the deceased person, whom the authorities described as "brought dead" case.

The man, who recently returned from New Delhi, died at a private hospital but later examination of his body showed he was positive for Covid-19, Health Minister Etela Rajender told a news conference on Saturday.

The man fell sick on his return and was admitted to Global Hospital, where he died on Thursday night.

As the government had issued instructions to all hospitals to report all deaths, the private hospital informed the authorities.

The health officials checked the deceased person's travel history and on suspicion shifted his body to the government-run Gandhi Hospital, where it was tested positive.

The authorities found that the man, with his family members, had also visited the historic Jamia Masjid of Delhi.

"He had some other illness and was also diagnosed with pneumonia," the Minister said.

The man had gone to the national capital on March 14 and returned three days later. He was admitted to the private hospital with complaint of fever.

Rajender said all the positive cases reported on Saturday had travel history.

He also revealed that four persons among the health personnel deployed at Hyderabad Airport for screening the patients were among those who tested positive. A family member of one of the affected persons also contracted the virus.

The Minister said 10 of the total 65 affected persons under treatment had now tested negative. If they test negative again over next couple of days, they would be discharged.

He said barring an old-aged person, who had previous history of illness, all were stable.

The state had reported its first positive case on March 2. The patient was discharged two weeks later.

The Minister said the number of persons under quarantine had come down from 20,000 to 13,000 and this is likely to drastically come down in 4-5 days.

He, however, warned of stern action against those hiding their travel history or breaking quarantine. He revealed that some of the passengers who landed at Hyderabad Airport had taken paracetamol to avoid being detected for high body temperature.

He appealed to people not to visit places of worship, as two cases surfaced through primary contact at religious places.

The state government also stepped up its efforts to come to the rescue of migrant workers from other districts.

Collectors of all districts and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) were directed to open food and accommodation centres for the labourers. IANS