HYDERABAD: Though the authorities claim that the Covid-19 cases are decreasing fast, thanks to the ongoing lockdown, the fact seems to be the other way round.
More than 100 coronavirus positive cases have been reported daily from 11 districts each in the state for the past one week which means the number of cases is not falling despite the lockdown. Bhadradri Kothagudem, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, Peddapalli, Nagarkurnool, Nalgonda, Siddipet, Suryapet, Vikarabad, Warangal Rural and Warangal Urban districts are witnessing more than 100 new cases every day.
Indian Medical Association (IMA) Telangana chapter which carried out a mask drive in districts said there was a lot of crowding in markets due to the harvest season. There are also traders, daily wage workers and migrant labourers who came back home due to the lockdown in the states where they were working. Heavy influx of people from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha has been witnessed in these districts.
Dr Lav Kumar Reddy, president of IMA TS chapter says, "There were wedding ceremonies in the first week of May. Despite restrictions, more than 200 people attended these functions. The government is strict now but those who were infected earlier are coming to hospitals now. The IMA had a meeting with sarpanches to sensitise them and it was found that there is one death every day in the districts with high caseload."
Bhadradri Kothagudem reported 120 cases on May 20 and 128 new cases were reported on Wednesday. Caseloads in Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar and Siddipet have been constantly above 100. Karimnagar reported 170 new cases on Wednesday and in this week total caseload is 1,113. This district is also a shopping hub for people during the wedding season apart from the agriculture activities. Mahbubnagar reported 158 new cases on Wednesday and the total caseload in the week is 891.
In Siddipet, it was noted that there was no proper social distancing maintained in huge agriculture markets. Experts say the concept of social distancing is not understood by farmers which shows that awareness about the disease at the ground level is limited or nil.
Siddipet recorded 131 new cases on Wednesday, showing the graph above 100 for a week. Total caseload for the week has been 766.
In Warangal Urban and Rural districts, during the first and second waves caseload has been high and experts attribute it to the agriculture and economic activities in both the districts. They also say that in districts, vaccination is very less which has led to the rise in positive cases.
Warangal Urban recorded 158 new cases on Wednesday and the total caseload for the week is 860. Warangal Rural recorded 102 new cases and there was a slight dip in the cases on May 23 with 61 new cases, yet the total caseload is 652.
Experts say that cases with mild symptoms have come down and with the strict implementation of lockdown, the numbers will reduce slowly. There were 3,762 new cases in the state and the total number of cases are 5,63,903. Total deaths are 3,189 of which 20 were reported on Wednesday.
Testing in the state has increased with 91,048 samples collected. Those in home and institutional isolation are 38,632. The number of people in home and institutional isolation shows that the virus is active and can spread around.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has recorded 528 new cases and the districts around the city also continue to report high numbers with Ranga Reddy 229, Medchal- Malkajgiri 213 and Sangareddy 90 new cases.
