Telangana marks one year since Covid-19 hit state

HYDERABAD: Marking one year of Covid-19 in Telangana state, senior health officials on Tuesday recalled surveillance efforts by the epidemiology wing which tracked patients and traced their contacts, apart from establishing containment zones to help control spread of Coronavirus.

Recognising all the hard work, effort and patience of healthcare workers at Gandhi Hospital on Tuesday, health minister Etala Rajender said, "Since March 2, 2020, it has been a tough year for all. We have learnt a lot of things. Recovered Covid-19 patients have shown a lot of strength, as they fought the disease. I congratulate all the healthcare workers, many of whom could not go to their homes for months. With the vaccine now available, there is a ray of hope. Yet, the fight against the virus must continue," he said, warning against any complacency.

Despite increasing pressure and growing taboo with regard to the disease, doctors, nurses, paramedics, sanitation staff, junior doctors and house surgeons came forward to give their best. Said Gandhi Hospital superintendent Dr M. Raja Rao: "We thank all our colleagues, some of whom even took ill, recovered and came back on duty. We have seen all of them coming forward to work together and save maximum lives."

A major challenge during the pandemic had been kidney patients and pregnant mothers, who caught the virus. As many as 7,000 kidney patients had been undergoing dialysis and 900 Coronavirus-positive women gave birth to children. In all, Gandhi Hospital treated around 35,000 Covid-19 patients, 7,000 of them in critical care facilities since outbreak of pandemic. Healthcare workers worked 24 by 7. Junior doctors underwent training and re-training to update themselves, as care and treatment protocols kept changing.

It was tough not only for those diseased but also the medical fraternity, who pooled together their knowledge in treating infectious diseases to work out medical and therapeutic protocols. The microbiology department came under severe stress during the first few days, as they had to test samples that were invariably high. Their workload kept piling up as the disease spreading in different parts of the state.