Infant discharged after recovery from COVID-19; 7 fresh cases on Wednesday

A 45-day-old baby boy was cured of COVID-19 and discharged from a state-run hospital here, after a fortnight long treatment, while seven fresh cases were reported in Telangana on Wednesday.

The baby from Mahabubnagar district, who contracted the infection from his father, was admitted to the designated Gandhi Hospital on April 4 as a 20-day old, stated to be the youngest in the country to have contracted the infection.

State Health Minister E Rajender expressed happiness over the baby being discharged after recovery.

An official bulletin said 35 people, including 13 of them children, were discharged on Wednesday.

Reflecting a drop in fresh cases, only seven people tested positive, taking the number of positive cases in the state to 1016. Of this, the number of active cases till date was 582, the COVID-19 bulletin said.

No death was reported and the number of COVID-19 fatalities remained 25.

The number of cured and discharged people till date stood at 409.

Meanwhile, an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited a government quarantine centre established at Ayurvedic hospital at Erragadda and enquired about the arrangements and facilities there, an official release said.

The Central team, which has been inspecting various facilities in the city involved in the fight against COVID-19 since Saturday, also visited a 'containment zone' at Gajularamaram, it said.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, who held a meeting with officials, said senior IAS officer Sandeep Kumar Sultania has been designated as Nodal Officer for the movement of stranded people in connection with the latest directives of Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

State Home Minister Mohd Mahmood Ali directed that the Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) must inspect at least two Police Stations under their jurisdiction and issue instructions to SHOs and all the staff, including Police Constables, to exercise much patience while enforcing lockdown rules and avoid "hitting" people.

He also instructed that the DCP concerned should also conduct surprise visits to various areas of the Police Stations and ensure that the instructions are followed by the enforcement staff strictly and see that no complaints are received.

Ali, who convened a meeting with senior Police officials of the city to review the lockdown situation, said he will also conduct inspections to the Police Stations if needed, an official release said.

A day after two men were allegedly hit by policemen here while enforcing lockdown, the city police advised its personnel not to wield the lathis, saying such acts will spoil the hard work being done by the 10,000-strong constabulary in assisting the government in containing the spread of coronavirus.

Referring to the incidents, Hyderabad Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar said the two incidents at Golconda and Mirchowk areas have brought bad name to the Hyderabad city police and in this regard a constable and a home guard were placed under suspension for their "unprofessional" conduct.

Meanwhile, opposition BJP hit out at the TRS government over alleged lockdown violations and accused it of appeasing the minority while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic "under pressure" from AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

Newly appointed BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar claimed that people were moving on roads in the Old City area after Ramzan started and the government was not doing enough testing in a bid to show lower number of positive cases.