Hyderabad: Telangana state was given 17178.21 tonnes of liquid medical oxygen during the second wave of the Covid, between April 1 and July 25, making it the fourth-highest recipient, according to a report submitted in the Lok Sabha.
This meant that there were more cases than what was reported from the state, both from hospitals and homes. It also meant there were more severe cases than what was officially acknowledged here.
Dr Mustufa Afzal, senior infection control specialist at Care Hospitals explains, "Some 80 out of 100 cases admitted in the hospital, 80 required oxygen. The oxygen requirement in the second wave was high. Those who suffered from severe Covid infection were on oxygen therapy for longer periods of time. The number of severe diseases was high during the second wave."
Non-government organisations, social clubs, techies and youth organisations who were active in supplying medical oxygen have said the demand was all-time-high in April and May. They say the ground reality was different from what was released by the government on a daily basis.
A senior government doctor said, "Telangana has missed 39 cases for each reported case, as per the seroprevalence survey carried out by epidemiologists. The estimated cases till June 25 from the first case reported in the state were of 243 lakhs. The population of the state is 34,183,000. This makes the state 8th in line in terms of missing cases."
Under-reporting of cases has been viewed cynically by the healthcare fraternity. They say that in the second wave, the cases from the private sector were not listed. Hence, there is lack of clarity in this respect. With the oxygen supply details now coming to the fore, it is clear that the total cases are much more than were reported.
