Hyderabad: A post-funeral gathering in Telangana has become a virtual super spreader with 22 members of the extended family testing positive for COVID-19.
A health department official said that of the 38 people who stayed for the ceremony after the death of a member of the family in Suryapet, about 130 km from here, 22 of them screened and tested positive on Thursday
they were all asymptomatic, they were advised home isolation, he told.
Other protocols such as contact tracing and hygiene work have been introduced, the official said adding contacts tested so far have not been infected by coronovirus.
The older man died a week earlier and extended family members settled in various places, gathered and returned to the district headquarters town for post-death celebrations.
Initially, one of them, a TB patient, was advised to test COVID-19 by a doctor and it turned out to be positive for the virus.This prompted members of the extended family to voluntarily undergo COVID-19 tests at a government hospital.
The officer stressed the need to maintain social distance and take precautions like wearing masks to prevent COVID-19.
