District Collector Anita Ramachandran has gone into self-quarantine on Thursday, after a senior executive of the Bhongir Zilla Parishad, who attended meetings with her, tested positive.
The 53-year-old official sat next to Ms. Anita last on June 5, to address a video conference with local officials. He went on leave after that due to illness. A resident of L.B. Nagar in Hyderabad, the official was being treated at a private facility in Uppal. following that day, However, the illness persisted.
On Wednesday, samples of both the official and his 45-year-old wife were collected by doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bibinagar. “The results showed the couple tested positive,” District Medical & Health Officer B. Sambha Shiva Rao confirmed.
Ms. Ramachandran was to address a meeting with municipal officials on prevention of seasonal illnesses scheduled for 4 p.m., but soon after the results at around 2 p.m., she left the office. She would remain in self-isolation at her official residence here for one week, officials said.
Along with the Collector, a dozen other officials were also identified as “primary contacts” and some 25 others were “secondary contacts”. None of them showed symptoms, and all are under home quarantine. The office rooms and premises of the District Collectorate at Pagidipalli, on the outskirts of Bhongir, were quickly sanitised with sodium hypochlorite following the development.
‘Working from home’
Ms. Ramachandran, when contacted, said she was with the official for some ten minutes during a meeting, and her voluntary self-isolation was only a preventive measure. “I am not on leave, I am working from home. Since it has been a week, and I don’t have any symptoms, I will not go for tests. I am all right,” she said.
