This story is from April 8, 2020

Indonesians in Karimnagar sparked nationwide alert

It was in the third week of March, Karimnagar, with a population of around three lakh, woke up to the realisation that coronavirus had struck the town.
Indonesians in Karimnagar sparked nationwide alert
The group of Indonesians had arrived Karimnagar on May 14. Ten of them tested positive
Hyderabad: It was in the third week of March, Karimnagar, with a population of around three lakh, woke up to the realisation that coronavirus had struck the town. With 10 Indonesian preachers testing positive, alarm bells had started ringing.The group of 10 Indonesians had arrived on March 14 from Delhi aboard the AP Sampark Kranti Express. They visited four mosques in the town.
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The next day, they went to the Intelligence Special Branch to register their presence.
By then, the fact that a IT professional who returned from Dubai had tested positive had caused consternation. “Since one of the Indonesians had shown signs of coronavirus, the SB personnel shifted them to the hospital,” Karimnagar police commissioner VB Kamalasan Reddy told TOI.
On March 16, the group was rushed to the Gandhi Hospital where, subsequently, all 10 of them tested positive along with four others who were in contact with them. As on April 7, there are seven active positive cases from Karimnagar alone. Police have also registered cases against the Indonesians for violating the Foreigners Act.
As many as 114 people are now under quarantine in hospitals and 625 under home quarantine in Karimnagar town. Interestingly, the man, who hosted the Indonesians, was not traceable but police caught him eventually and sent him for examination. He too tested positive. Two other contacts of the Indonesians had also tested positive.
With the Indonesians testing positive, the Telangana government informed the central government. The railways was alerted about the coaches in which the Indonesians had travelled and passengers were asked to report for a check-up. On March 21, the Union home ministry realised the gravity of the pandemic after Telangana reported cases from Karimnagar about the Indonesian group after they had attended the
Nizamuddin Markaz meet.
Stepping in, Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay of BJP urged all those associated with the Markaz event to submit themselves for a check-up.
Even before the lockdown was announced, Mukarampura and three other places where the Indonesians had stayed were declared ‘red zones’ and barricaded. Municipal commissioner Valluru Kranthi made arrangements for door delivery of essentials to 4,000 houses. Medical tests were conducted twice for everyone in each household. She also said documentation was being done on how the crisis was being handled.
“Apart from monitoring by drones, we have fixed CCTV cameras in these areas so that no one comes out of their houses,” Kamalasan explained. Collector K Shashanka said all protocols were being followed to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the district.
Karimnagar town was upgraded to a municipal corporation in 2005.
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About the Author
Ch Sushil Rao

Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.

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