Hyderabad: Civic officials in Greater Hyderabad are nonplussed by the sudden spike in coronavirus numbers in the city in the last few days, with Monday alone producing 79 cases. Sources in the civic authority of the city say the flareup could be due the shrinkage of containment zones and the resultant mingling of people as a result of that.
According to highly placed sources in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), there have been troubling signs for over a week that Covid-19 cases were poised to grow in the city. From May 5 to May 10, as many as 100 cases were registered in the Greater Hyderabad limits. On May 11, seven persons tested positive in that locality alone and the number of cases in the Charminar zone (Ziaguda 27 cases) was even more alarming.
Sources say that ever since the municipality minimised the containment zones, probably to cut costs, it became more difficult to break the viral spread.
"The situation was under control until last week. However, with the removal of containment restrictions at over 60 locations and restrictions being limited to a bylane or house, cases have increased due to free public movement and interaction,” said one official on Covid-19 duty.
The officials said going by the dangerous trend, GHMC will ask the state government to restore containment clusters to prevent a wider spread.
Due to the relaxation of containment restrictions, asymptomatic people have been organising get-togethers and parties behind closed doors. “Such instances have resulted in over 40 Covid-19 cases in the last three days. A single birthday party in the LB Nagar zone led to 11 persons catching the coronavirus. The numbers are likely to increase since data collected from the field level reveal that hundreds of weekend parties took place in the city in violation of physical distancing guidelines. We will notify the government and take measures accordingly to control the spread,” the official added.
“We are hopeful that a rise in temperature in the latter part of May will minimise the spread," one official said.
