By Fearing a second wave of Covid-19 in Telangana after high-intensity campaigns for the recently-concluded GHMC elections, the Director of Public Health in Telangana has advised all the political leaders and cadre involved in electioneering to go under a week’s self-isolation.
Addressing a press conference Wednesday, Dr G Srinivasa Rao said that the spread of coronavirus is under control in the state but there are factors like falling temperatures with the onset of winters, campaigns for GHMC election, results of which are awaited on December 4, and ongoing festivals, that could lead to a second wave of COVID-19 like witnessed in other states. According to him, Telangana has the lowest number of active cases, lowest mortality rate, and the highest number of recovery cases, but Telangana is no exception to the second wave of viral infection.
“A large number of people have participated in electioneering and we have seen many people have not followed the COVID-19 protocols by not wearing a mask or not maintaining social distancing. Elections are over, and now it is time for us to take all precautions. We request that all political leaders, workers, and the general public who could have been exposed to stay in isolation for five to seven days. All those with symptoms should get tested for the virus,” said the director of public health.
He said that 65,000 tests were being conducted in Telangana every day. Free tests are being done in 1,096 government centres. Also, another 50 testing centres are set up in the greater Hyderabad region considering the drop in temperatures. “We are testing through 300 mobile-testing vans also, for high-risk groups and vulnerable populations,” he added. “All information on the location of testing centres and mobile-testing vans can be obtained from the helpline number 040-24651119.
Stating that 88 per cent of beds in COVID hospitals are lying vacant, he said people need to exercise caution till mid-January to prevent a second wave of the disease. For example, in the Jagtial district, the number of positive cases has suddenly risen from 30-odd to 100-plus. One reason is large gatherings at weddings, markets, etc, he reasoned.
Dr K Ramesh Reddy, the director of Medical Education, said the number of positive cases had fallen drastically in November. “There are only 135 patients under treatment in Gandhi hospital compared to 900 cases earlier. Without people’s cooperation, we cannot prevent the second wave. Early identification is key,” he said.
As of December 2, there were 8,999 active cases of COVID-19 in Telangana. Of them, 6,922 were in home isolation or institutional quarantine. 1465 persons have succumbed to the disease and the case fatality ratio stands at 0.53 per cent. The recovery rate in Telangana is 96.14 per cent, according to the medical bulletin issued on December 3.
