No testing of asymptomatic secondary contacts of Covid-19 patients: Telangana Govt

Hyderabad: The state government on Wednesday said there will be no testing of asymptomatic secondary contacts of identified Covid-19 patients, while at the same time doubling ‘strict home quarantine’ for such contacts to 28 days from 14 days with immediate effect.

The government’s decision comes amidst increasing concerns globally and at the national level about how asymptomatic carriers of Coronavirus could be spreading the disease, particularly in the light of limited testing of people who might have been exposed to the virus through indirect contact with identified Covid-19 patients.

It was just two days ago, on Monday, that the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had said that 80 per cent of Coronavirus carriers in the country either exhibited only mild symptoms or were completely asymptomatic.

Both the Ministry and the Indian Council for Medical Research had emphasised the importance of lockdown procedures and said that while it was not possible to test everyone, protocols are in place to test highly suspected asymptomatic people who have a travel history or close contact with a confirmed patient.

In a set of instructions issued on Wednesday, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar said that asymptomatic secondary contacts – people who came into contact with individuals with whom an identified Covid-19 patient had been in contact – shall, “however, be identified, stamped and placed in strict home quarantine for a period of 28 days.”

Kumar said that the health of all such persons will be monitored daily by the local multidisciplinary teams.

The orders follow instances of secondary contacts of some Covid-19 patients who were quarantined at government facilities and were also tested for the disease. In view of such incidents, Kumar said “only the primary contacts of the positive cases shall be brought to government identified quarantine centres and their samples taken for testing.”