Telangana: With spike in daily COVID-19 cases, health dept sounds alert

Hyderabad: With single-day COVID-19 infections in the state going beyond 200 and a sharp rise noted in several districts, officials of the health department on Monday sounded high alert and urged citizens to continue to follow safety protocols.

“We don’t want to see a fresh surge in infections in Telangana. General public must ensure they are using masks and follow COVID-appropriate behavior,” said G Sreenivasa Rao, director of public health, in a meeting here.

According to a bulletin issued by the state medical and health department on Sunday, Telangana recorded as many as 228 positive cases of COVID-19. Though only 157 new cases were reported on Monday, it is alarming to note several hotspots which reported high number of cases last year with fresh cases.

The number of cases reported from the last few days showed numbers fluctuating between 110 to 228 infections. Especially, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) region too crossed 50-mark after several weeks.

State health minister Eatala Rajender has asked officials to take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

During meetings and a teleconference with officials and hospital superintendents, he said that at least 50,000 samples should be tested every day and the policy of ‘testing, tracing and treating’ should be strictly followed.

The Minister also urged citizens to follow the COVID-19 safety protocol like mandatory wearing of masks, maintaining social distancing, and frequent hand washing.

The total case tally so far 3,01,318 and the total death toll to 1,654. Meanwhile, the recovery cases went up to 2,97,681 with the recovery of 166 persons in a single day. At present, there are 1,983 active cases out of which 718 are in-home or institutional isolation.