Telangana out of second wave, as cases decline

Hyderabad: After two and a half months, Telangana is out of the second wave of Coronavirus. The cases have declined to hundreds from thousands. The State had experienced the worst during this wave that impacted more than the first. As many as 1,489 fresh cases were recorded on June 16, while there were 1,498 cases on April 5. The number of daily cases had been increasing. The State had registered 298,184 Covid cases from April 1 to June 16. Their cumulative number rose to 607,925 from 309,741 during the period. As many as 10,122 cases were recorded on a single day during this wave. The highest number was below 5,000 in the first wave.

Also, the active cases peaked during this season, as 80,695 were registered on May 1. More than 1,820 deaths were recorded in the last two and half months. The total toll till date reached 3,521. There were 1,701 fatalities by March 31, before the second wave started.

Telangana stood with the States which recorded a low number of Covid cases. The positivity and mortality rate of the State is very low compared to that at the national level. Its recovery rate is high. The fatality rate is only 0.57 per cent, against 1.3 across the country. The State's recovery rate is 96.13, against 95.76 in the country, said Director of Public Health G Srinivasa Rao.

He said neighbouring States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh faced the worst situation during this season, recording more than 10,000 cases in a day, for many days. Still these States are recording more than five to six thousand cases a day. The situation in Telangana has become normal due to good strategy. The second wave was severe in rural areas throughout the country, but the State had good control over cases in rural areas, in contrast to other States.

With government help, the Health department took prompt steps on time imposing lockdown. Setting up of Covid OPs throughout the State and door-to-door fever surveys were the key points in controlling the virus. The government imposed the lockdown gradually without impacting the State economy.. Night curfew imposed after the first lockdown, with a four-hour extension, helped a lot to control the virus.

Testing and vaccination in Telangana were also accelerated during this period. A total of 1,70,70,252 tests were conducted in the State by June 16, whereas by March 31 only 1,02,70,249 were done. Vaccination of people today reached 83, 29,332, while only 12,64,026 were done by March 31. The special drives by the Health department are going on.