Coronavirus speed spread slows as Telangana gasps for vaccine jab

Coronavirus in Telangana: Coming to the end of 2020, all the talk is about the availability of Covid-19 vaccine in less than a month's time from now. However, if we look back at the year passed by, Covid-19 and the fight against it occupied the centre stage pretty much for the major part of the year. The whole world, including India was reeling under its impact, and Telangana state was no exception to it.

The first positive case in the country was reported on January 30 after a medico returned from Wuhan to her native place in Kerala. However, Telangana got its first positive case on March 2, from a man who had a travel history to UAE. Within a few days later, almost a dozen foreigners from Indonesia, who attended Tablighi Jamaat meet in New Delhi and later were touring in Karimnagar, tested positive in a gap of few days sending shock waves among the health department.

Health Minister Eatala Rajender had later stated that it was Telangana that alerted Centre about the Tablighi meet and infections detected later on forcing other States to take remedial measures. Telangana's tally crossed 1,000 positive cases on April 26. Gandhi Hospital was designated to treat Covid cases and a majority of positive cases were admitted in this facility initially. King Koti hospital, Chest hospital, Fever hospital, TIMS-Gachibowli were added to the list later on. After a few months, government hospitals in districts also started admitting and treating Covid patients.

Until mid-June, Telangana was only doing RT-PCR tests and that too in limited numbers that drew flak from medical experts and politicos and later High Court also directed the State government to put elaborate information and district-wise data of tests, positive cases and treating hospitals in the public domain.

Later RAT (Rapid Antigen Tests) were also added and the number of testing centres that were just under 20 were extended to three figures later covering all districts.

Like all other States in the country that are gearing up for Covid vaccination, Telangana has identified 80 lakh people for administering vaccine, including frontline staff from health, police, sanitation and panchayat raj wings along with people above 50 years of age. This process is set to kick start from the middle of January.