Telangana state wakes up to corona spike

Hyderabad: The State Government slowly seems to be realising the intensity of the surge in Covid-19 cases and is gearing up to take measures like revival of containment zones in the corona-hit habitations, complete curb on people's movements between the border districts where a large number of positive cases are being reported, regulate the movement of people in markets and fix the number of people to be permitted in the function halls.

As a first step, the government on Thursday decided to put off the ongoing "Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav" celebrations launched recently to mark the completion of 75 years of India attained Independence.

The celebrations are supposed to be held till August 15, 2022. The Committee for Swantantra Bharat Amritotsavallu headed by retired IAS official KV Ramanachary said that "in view of the widespread of corona virus in the state, it is decided to stop the celebrations until further orders".

This decision was taken after Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar held series of meetings on Covid safety measures with the top officials here on Thursday.

Official sources said that the Chief Secretary discussed with the District Collectors about their preparedness to check the fast spread of the virus. He, however, made it clear that the measures they take should not affect economic activity.

The issue of imposing a night curfew was also discussed in the meeting, officials said that steady increase of people's visit to the malls and markets during the festival season could also contribute to the spike in cases and felt that some regulations should be imposed on the movement of people.

The Chief Secretary enquired about the availability of oxygen and its judicious use in the district Covid hospitals, strict implementation of compulsory mask in the public places, Covid vaccination drive, ramping up corona testing and the increase of bed strength in government and private hospitals.

Meanwhile, there are reports that there was a shortage of oxygen in hospitals in Adilabad. In Nizamabad, out of 330 beds in the Covid hospital, 310 were already full. The number of cases under GHMC too is on the increase. In view of this, the government has asked all hospitals to postpone elective surgeries till the next four weeks.

Director of Public Health G Srinivas Rao said that the virus was spreading rapidly in the state. He said about 20,000 beds were ready across the state and the demand for more beds was also on the rise so that the department can meet any eventuality.

He appealed to people to realise the intensity of the situation and strictly follow Covid-19 protocols like wearing a clean three-layered mask, maintain social distance, and sanitising of hands at regular intervals.