HYDERABAD: The number of Covid-19 hospitalisations, and ICU and oxygen-bed admissions in Telangana are higher than the national average, even though the medical bulletin claims fewer deaths than the country’s average.
According to the the medical bulletin released on Thursday, 35.07 per cent of the active cases in Telangana are under hospital care, i.e., 5,485 of 15,640 active cases. Also, with a total of 1,018 patients in the ICUs of government and private hospitals, the percentage of those in intensive care out of the active cases is 6.5 per cent. ICU cases include both those on CPAP machines and ventilators. Apart from this, of the 15,600 active cases, 2,672 patients are on oxygen support, which translates to 17.08 per cent.
When these three data points are compared with the most-recent statistics released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on July 17, it shows that Telangana’s hospitalisation, ICU admissions and oxygen-bed occupancy is higher than the national average, against the number of active cases reported. According to the MoHFW data, of the 3.42 lakh cases on July 17, only 1.94 per cent were in ICUs and 2.81 per cent on oxygen beds.
Telangana’s statistics are far higher for these. For instance, Karnataka, according to its medical bulletin issued on July 30, the ICU cases were merely 620 of the 69,700 active cases, i.e., 0.88 per cent.This poses the question as to whether Telangana is still not testing enough, which is why many asymptomatic people are not being added to the active tally. Or, is it that the test delays are landing many in ICU.
Globally as well it is established that just 10 per cent would require hospitalisation, but in Telangana this appears to be on a higher side, at 35 per cent.Despite the high hospitalisation rate, it is pertinent to note that the State has sufficient beds — of both oxygen and ventilators. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 mortality rate in Telangana is lower than the country’s average — according to the bulletin it is 0.83 per cent as against the country’s 2.26 per cent. However, this does not take away the cause for concern for the high ICU admissions.
Covid-19 claims TRS leader
Nizamabad: Bodhan Municipal Councillor and TRS floor leader M Gunaprasad died of Covid-19 on Thursday. The 54-year-old was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Hyderabad after he tested positive for the disease. According to information reaching here, Gunaprasad contracted the infection through his wife