Hyderabad: Seven Indonesian nationals who were quarantined in Telangana have tested positive for Covid-19, authorities confirm.
The group had been put under isolation after one among them was tested positive for coronavirus two days ago.
With this, the cases of confirmed Covid-19 in Telangana comes up to 13.
The eight member group of Indonesians were part of a pilgrimage tour and were put into isolation on March 16th, after one of them tested positive.
The preacher was tested at the Gandhi General Hospital in Hyderabad on Tuesday, after being brought from Karimnagar following suspicions of infection.
Their presence in Karimnagar was discovered on March 16, but the group is believed to have been travelling in Telangana since March 14.
Health minister Etala Rajendar told a news conference on Monday that the group landed in New Delhi from Indonesia on March 9.
Upon arrival, they were screened at Delhi, after which, they took a train to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, where they are believed to have spent a couple of days.
From Bhopal, they travelled to Telangana and reached Ramagundam town in Peddapalli district.
However, it was learnt that from Ramagundam, they arrived in Karimnagar in a vehicle on March 14 and spent the night at a mosque near the Karimnagar collectorate.
The next day, Sunday, they approached the police, along with their local contacts, to report their arrival as foreigners in the district and seek permission to hold a meeting at the mosque.
It was then that the police ordered that they should first get screened for health at a local hospital and bring back health reports. The Indonesian preachers, it was learnt, first went to a private hospital for check-ups and went back to police, who informed them that the screenings should be performed at a state government-run health facility.
On Monday, the group first went to the government-run mother and child health care centre, from where they were directed to approach the government area hospital.
Once at this hospital, doctors who screened them, noticed that one of them was suffering from cough, cold and a fever, symptoms typical of Covid-19 and immediately recommended that they should be sent to the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.
It was then that the group, along with three locals – one from Hyderabad and two from Karimangar – were sent to the Gandhi Hospital by Karimnagar district health authorities.
It was learnt that the usual practice for such groups of preachers is to pick a ‘markaz’, an area served by a mosque or a group of mosques, through a draw of lots and go there and spend a few days teaching the reading of Quran and teaching people the correct way of performing Namaz, among other religious education activities.
The group reportedly did not interact with anyone while in Karimnagar and members kept to themselves, cooked their own food and stayed in a room allotted to them.
Among the total count of 13, one has been cured and discharged and 12 are still under treatment.
