HYDERABAD: As if showcasing the alarming spread of coronavirus cases of late, as many as 32 members of the medical and health staff working at the Petlaburj government maternity hospital in Hyderabad tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday.

More disconcerting is the fact that these personnel were infected with the dreaded virus even after duly adhering to all the safety guidelines and using the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) gear. Out of these 32 new coronavirus patients, 18 are doctors while the remaining 14 are other staff discharging their duties at the hospital.

The latest corona scare right inside the government maternity hospital has set the alarm bells ringing within the police and administrative circles, already grappling with the preventive measures. After isolating the infected doctors and the health staff, the authorities are trying hard to make sure that the regular treatment services at the hospital are not hampered by this mini-crisis. It is also going to be a daunting task for them to establish how these members contracted the virus and what is the extent of further spread of the virus from them to others.

The medical and health staff, who are being seen as the frontline warriors in combating COVID-19, are living with the highest risk factor as they are relentlessly treating patients in the trying times of the killer virus pandemic. Long before the Petlaburj cases, several doctors and medical and health staff discharging duties at Osmania Medical College and its affiliated hospitals, premier medical institution NIIMS besides King Koti and Gandhi government hospitals tested coronavirus positive.

While the police and the medical staff are regarded as those at high risk, even the political fraternity also appears to be joining this league. As many as three MLAs of the ruling TRS party, namely Muthireddy Yadagiri Reddy representing Jangaon, Bajireddy Goverdhan (Nizamabad Rural) and Bigala Ganesh Gupta (Nizamabad Urban), have also ended up contracting the dangerous virus.