Coronavirus: Telangana health officials on high alert

Health Minister Etela Rajender on Thursday put the entire health machinery of Telangana on high alert following the conformation of a case of novel coronavirus in Kerala.

Within minutes of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), New Delhi, announcing a positive case of the 2019-nCoV from Kerala, the State Health Minister directed senior health officials in Hyderabad to intensify the screening process and be prepared to meet any kind of eventualities.

The health authorities are prepared to keep any passengers coming from China under observation or quarantine. If need be, depending on the situation and availability of beds, home quarantine can also be considered for persons who have a travel history to the neighbouring country and have typical symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

The Health Minister directed officials to be ready to provide immediate admission to patients at isolation wards at the three tertiary hospitals. The process of identification of patients and admission to the hospitals should be a seamless affair, he said.

Health authorities said the isolation beds to accommodate suspected novel coronavirus virus cases were increased to 200 in Hyderabad. Apart from Fever, Gandhi and Chest hospitals, the authorities added additional beds at Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital. A 24-hour control room



(040-2465-1119) was made operational at the State level to receive grievances and help patients.

Meanwhile, Justice Ananda Rao Nadipally, Chairperson of Telangana State Human Rights Commission, member (non-judicial) Mohammed Irfan Moinuddin and several others of the Commission visited RGIA to inspect the screening of passengers being undertaken by the medical team.

Meanwhile, health officials said two more persons with a travel history to China were admitted to Gandhi and Fever hospitals. Three persons of a family, who voluntarily got admitted to Fever Hospital last week, are now under home quarantine. Including the two fresh cases, so far, nine persons volunteered to get admitted to Fever and Gandhi hospitals. While samples of two persons turned out negative, the results of the other patients are yet to arrive from National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

To avoid the cumbersome process of collecting swab samples and sending them to NIV for confirmation of 2019-nCoV, ground is being prepared to conduct tests at Gandhi Hospital. Rapid diagnostic kits that will quickly confirm the test results are being procured by the State government in collaboration with MOHFW. In a day or two, the facility to conduct 2019-nCoV coronavirus tests will be available at a high-end laboratory in Gandhi Hospital.