Third fever survey kicks off in Telangana; CS allays COVID fears

HYDERABAD: The third state-wide fever survey to identify people with Covid symptoms that include fever, cold, cough, body aches among others, which are the common ones caused by the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus, began on Friday with thousands of health workers fanning out across Telangana’s cities, towns and villages.

Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, who visited the Hilltop Colony in Erramanzil area of Khairatabad to see for himself how the fever survey was going, told reporters that the exercise was to catch anyone with symptoms early, and offer treatment by providing them with a medicine kit, and advice from the health workers on how to take the medicines. He said there was no cause for worry over the Omicron variant, and if early indications from various parts of the country were anything to go by, then the spread of the disease could be slowing down.

He, however, made it clear that the government was fully prepared for meeting any eventuality and with all its hospitals well-equipped to treat Covid patients. “We have more than one crore testing kits, and are conducting more than one lakh tests a day. The fever survey will aid in identifying anyone who is sick, and curb the spread further, and faster,” he said. Somesh Kumar added that special teams had been formed for the survey that included healthcare officials, Asha workers and ANMs, personnel from the panchayat raj, as well as municipal administration departments to ensure every household in the state was covered.
 “We have the experience of two previous fever surveys and will do this too. The survey is expected to be completed in one week,” he said.

Somesh Kumar, during his visit, was accompanied by Hyderabad district collector L. Sharman, GHMC commissioner Lokesh Kumar and other senior GHMC officials.