HYDERABAD: The Telangana health department will no longer make data on the number of Omicron cases in the state public. This was announced by the director of public health & family welfare Dr G. Srinivasa Rao on Thursday at a news conference.
Answering questions on the spread of the Omicron variant in the state, he said there was no need for people to worry about which variant they had been infected with as long as they got tested and followed medical advice.
He said some 70 per cent of all cases Telangana was now seeing could be attributed to the Omicron variant. Not every sample of every person who gets tested positive for Covid can be sent for genome sequencing, and it is for the health officials to deal with data pertaining to each variant. “People on their part, should be careful, get tested, and follow medical advice if they test positive,” he said.
He, however, added that every Covid positive case sample in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits was being sent for genome sequencing. “That will show us which variant is more prevalent, and if any new variants are emerging,” he said.
Meanwhile, all political parties in Telangana have been urged to immediately put a halt to all activities that involve gatherings of people in the wake of surging Covid-19 cases in the state.
“We request all parties to stop meetings and rallies for the next four weeks. Suspend all activities during this period,” Srinivasa Rao said on Thursday.
The health department, he said, was working hard to keep people safe during the third wave of Covid-19 and asked political parties to do their bit in keeping people of the state safe from catching Covid.
