Hyderabad: A resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in neighbouring Maharashtra has put the Telangana state government on a special alert. Health minister Etala Rajendar has ordered an immediate stepping up of the testing process in the state.
Increased surveillance has been ordered for Nizamabad, Jayashankar-Bhupalapally, Jagtial and other districts bordering Maharashtra. Ground-level health care staff such as Asha workers and village officials have been asked to monitor the arrivals from outside and test them for Covid-19 before they mixed with the local population.
The minister, during a teleconference with district medical and health officers and superintendents of government hospitals, said the number of tests every day must be raised to 50,000. The daily testing count on March 11 was 21,340.
The testing of samples had been reduced as it was believed that the number of cases was coming down. Private diagnostic centres say the sample collections remain high. An official of a diagnostic chain here said, “We have 10 centers and each of them get more than 200 samples a day. The main centre gets 500 samples a day.”
The rise in cases across different states has made it important for the government machinery to be re-activated. Aspects like the wards earmarked for Covid-19 treatment, safety protocols of healthcare workers and the preparedness to deal with serious cases were reviewed by the minister and health officials.
A government doctor said, "Gandhi Hospital is the nodal centre. In Osmania General Hospital, the isolation ward has been kept ready and those who are positive are sent to Gandhi for treatment. The protocols are the same as was followed the last time.”
Doctors in government hospitals say they are isolating suspected cases early. Apart from fever, cough, cold, loss of smell and taste, people are also complaining of symptoms of diarrhoea, muscle pain, body ache and fatigue.
A government doctor explained, “There no longer are clusters but single cases are either mild or serious. There are changes in the pattern and it is important to understand which strain is prevalent.”
Health minister Rajendar said, “We are urging people to be alert and not relax. Health officials in Medchal Malkajgiri, Ranga Reddy, Sangareddy and Hyderabad are also vigilant as preventing the spread in densely populated areas is important. Vaccination process would continue and people must do it.”
