Massive jump in Telangana: 1,892 new cases plus 2762 uncertified positives

Hyderabad: Telangana recorded 1,892 new cases of coronavirus infection on Friday. It's the state's biggest single-day spurt so far. Only three other states in the country recorded more cases on Friday: Maharashtra (6,364), Tamil Nadu (4,329), Delhi (2,520).

This tally does not include the results from one private laboratory which reported 2,672 positive cases. That data has been kept on hold for closer inspection.

There were eight deaths on Friday, also the highest sing-day occurrence since the health department began issuing its daily COVID-19 medical bulletin. The toll stands at 283 in the state.

The current spurt in coronavirus cases may persuade the state government to bring in strict containment measures such as a lockdown and daytime curfew, which it has hinted at in recent days.

Of the new cases recorded on Friday, 1,658 patients were from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits. Most other districts also showed a remarkable spurt in cases.

Ranga Reddy had 56 new cases, Medchal 44, Sangareddy 20, Mahbubnagar 12, Warangal Rural 41, Mahbubabad 7, Mahbubnagar 12 and Nalgonda 13.

An expert committe of the government is looking at the astoundingly high coronavirus positive results reported by a private laboratory. The lab reported 2,672 positive from a batch of 3,726 samples that it tested. That gives it a positivity rate of 71.7 per cent.

The results of these cases have been kept on hold until the expert committee looks at the figures.

Experts did not rule out the possibility of this concentration of coronavirus cases; they could be people living in an infected cluster.

The testing module is the same across the city and only those laboratories that have certification from the Indian Council of Medical Research are allowed to test.

The issue of keeping these results in abeyance raises the question of treatment of these cases while the tests are scrutinised by the expert committee.