<![CDATA[Panic in India's tech hubs Hyderabad and Bangalore after man gets coronavirus following Dubai trip]>

News that a 24-year-old Bangalore tech worker had tested positive for the coronavirus in Hyderabad " after meeting with Hong Kong colleagues in Dubai " has caused panic in both Indian cities, with authorities racing to trace all his known contacts while people voluntarily check themselves into hospitals.

The software engineer, whose identity is being withheld by authorities, returned to Bangalore from Dubai on February 20. He had been in the United Arab Emirates' most populous city from February 16.

Efforts are under way to establish how the tech worker could have been infected, and there are conflicting reports on whether the Hong Kong residents he met with were colleagues or whether they were all delegates at a conference.

People wear face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak at the Bangalore City Railway Station. Photo: AFP alt=People wear face masks as a preventive measure against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak at the Bangalore City Railway Station. Photo: AFP

The infected man stayed in Bangalore for two to three days, coming into contact with no less than 90 people, authorities said, before making the 570-km bus trip to Hyderabad, which is also a tech hub.

The people he came into contact with include his co-travellers on the flight from Dubai to Bangalore, his flatmate, family members, and passengers on the bus from Bangalore to Hyderabad.

"We are tracking and trying to get in touch with all those persons who have come in contact with the coronavirus-affected person as per protocol," said Dr BG Prakash Kumar, joint director at the Karnataka health department.

The entire building housing the patient's flat " located on the eastern edge of the city which is dotted with multinational technology companies " has been closed off to non-residents by the Karnataka government for a thorough cleaning.

The patient's roommate, who works for US tech giant Intel Corporation, has opted to work from home due to safety concerns. "An Intel employee in Bangalore has potentially been exposed and is currently under quarantine in accordance with government requirements," said Intel.

Crew members of the Dubai-Bangalore flight, operated by Indian airline IndiGo, are also being quarantined.

An Indian lift operator stands inside a dedicated lift for people suspected to be infected with the new coronavirus at the Government Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, India. Photo: AP alt=An Indian lift operator stands inside a dedicated lift for people suspected to be infected with the new coronavirus at the Government Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, India. Photo: AP

In Bangalore, dozens of people were seen leaving numerous business parks after the man tested positive for the Covid-19 disease on Monday, and the news about his Bangalore-Hyderabad travel emerged.

Embassy Office Parks, which operates multiple business parks in Bangalore, issued a statement on Wednesday saying: "As of March 4, we are not aware of a single case of a positive test for the virus in more than 200,000 people who work on our business parks."

To make matters worse, another person " who works at global science-based company DSM in Hyderabad " was confirmed to have the coronavirus. The company is located in a tech park frequented by thousands of staff every day.

There were also reports of people voluntarily checking themselves into hospitals, while offices closed down, allowed staff to work from home and banned overseas work trips. Event organisers cancelled dozens of events expected to take place in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Scenes of people wearing surgical masks at train and bus stations " a rare sight in these two cities " have also fuelled panic. Government transport staff were seen wearing masks or using handkerchiefs to cover their faces.

Prices of surgical masks and sanitisers jumped sharply this week and many stores reported shortages.

Pictures of panic in Bangalore and Hyderabad " cities with 13 million and 12 million residents respectively " caught the attention of the state and central governments, which said they are working hard to address the situation. The government announced all primary schools in the capital New Delhi will remain shut until March 31 as a precautionary measure.

India has ramped up the screening of travellers " checking almost 1 million of them " as confirmed cases rose to 30 on Thursday, from just six earlier in the week. Almost all these patients are travellers who visited foreign countries recently.

There are fears that India's poor health care system will struggle to handle a community outbreak that experts believe is likely. These were fanned when the health minister disclosed that 16 Italian tourists who tested positive had been touring the country since mid-February.

Last week, US intelligence sources told Reuters that India's available countermeasures and the potential for the virus to spread rapidly among its dense population was a focus of serious concern.

"There is a strong possibility that the number of cases in India is much higher than what has been detected," Arunkumar G., director of the Manipal Institute of Virology, said, citing a virus incubation of up to two weeks.

With 450 million of India's 1.3 billion people estimated to be migrants, and with vast numbers using its rail and road systems daily, controlling any spread would be a huge challenge.

Indians stand in a queue for homeopathy medicine said to help prevent Covid-19, at a hospital in Hyderabad. Photo: AP alt=Indians stand in a queue for homeopathy medicine said to help prevent Covid-19, at a hospital in Hyderabad. Photo: AP

India's high number of diabetics " 77 million " and high rates of problems like kidney disease could lead to higher morbidity, or protracted treatment, experts said.

"One particular risk of India is the coexistence of other non-communicable disease epidemics," said Dr Rajib Dasgupta, professor of community health at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has said it is confident of its ability to arrest the spread of the virus.

"Coronavirus is a challenge, but the government of India has taken all initiatives to ensure that it is stopped," said D.V. Sadananda Gowda, minister of chemicals, who oversees the pharmaceuticals sector.

Additional reporting by Reuters

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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