Telangana has reported its first COVID-19 case of primary contact infection on Saturday.
The state's 20th positive case is a 35-year-old male from Hyderabad and is a primary contact of the 14th patient who had travelled from Dubai to Hyderabad on March 14, developed symptoms on March 17 and confirmed positive on March 19.
Another positive case was reported on Saturday, taking the tally in the state to 21. P21 is a 33-year male who works on a cruise liner in the USA and came here from Dubai, said the medical bulletin.
While the bulletin stated that 20th patient's condition as stable and admitted in hospital, it did not give the health condition of P21. 10 out of these 21 cases are the Indonesian preachers who had visited Karimnagar.
With the cases now crossing 20, health officials asking people “to stay calm and not panic. The state is taking all the measures to contain the spread of the virus to protect and safeguard the public.”
Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao held a press conference on Saturday asking people to observe a 24-hour shutdown in the state till six AM on 23 March, extending the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of Janata Curfew by nine hours.
The CM said that Telangana has received about 20,000 people from abroad since 1 March, 1500 of them on Friday mainly at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad. Tests are done on 700 suspects.
Rao stated 5274 surveillance teams are deployed to identify all foreign returnees including those from other cities, entering Telangana by road, railways.
“You are also Telangana’s children. Please show restraint and be in isolation. Please do not bring any harm to society. If you have any Covid-19 symptoms, please contact health officials immediately. We will take all care,” Rao has appealed to the NRIs and those who travelled abroad.
The state has formed 52 check posts at the interstate borders with special focus on Maharashtra.