Hyderabad, Jul 5 (IANS): The death of two city jewellers due to coronavirus within five days has led to panic among around 150 people from various walks of life who attended a birthday party thrown by one of them in Hyderabad a few days.

A 63-year-old diamond jeweller who had organised the party for his relatives and friends two weeks ago succumbed on Friday. One of his guests, another city jeweller, had died earlier.

A leading politician from the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and 11 others who attended the party have since tested positive and are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.

As many as 150 people had attended the birthday bash hosted by the jeweller who owns a shop in Himayatnagar area. Many leading jewellers, politicians and prominent people from various walks of life were among the attendees.

Since many important personalities attended the party, the incident was kept a closely guarded secret.

According to sources in the Telangana Health Department, three days after the party, a jeweller, who was among the guests, developed COVID-19 symptoms and was admitted to a private hospital, where he tested positive. He succumbed on Monday.

Later, the host too developed corona symptoms. He died at a corporate hospital on Friday.

Telangana, especially Hyderabad, has been witnessing a massive surge in COVID-19 cases for the last 3-4 weeks.

The number of cases crossed 22,000, with 1,850 new cases on Saturday. Greater Hyderabad alone accounted for 1,572 cases.