Coronavirus scare reaches IT corridor in Hyd after one techie suspected for infection

The coronavirus scare gripped the IT corridor in Hyderabad on Wednesday with one building in a complex, housing software firms, being vacated for sanitisation for a day as a precautionary measure after an employee there was suspected to have contracted the virus and other employees asked to work from home.

The building being vacated triggered rumors, including on social media, about the spread of the virus, forcing the authorities to clarify that operations in the building would resume from Thursday.

State Principal Secretary (IT) Jayesh Ranjan said the positive COVID-19 cases in the country are those with travel history to foreign countries.

He said the IT firm's office in which the techie, who is suspected to have contracted the virus, worked, is located on the ninth floor of the building concerned.

The firm employed 350 people and about 23 were part of the work group in which the techie worked.

The sample of the employee concerned has been sent to the National Institute of Virology at Pune.

There is no truth in rumours that the entire building complex was evacuated, Ranjan said.

All offices in the building would resume working from Thursday, he said.

Observing that some IT firms which are not related to any sort of COVID-19 precautionary measures have also sent their employees home on Wednesday, he said such steps are not warranted.

It would create a panic situation, he said.

It would be better if the IT firms consulted the government before initiating any such steps, Ranjan added.

Dismissing rumours about the IT corridor being vacated, Cyberabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar said the building concerned has been vacated only for a day for sanitisation and employees would resume working from Thursday.

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