HYDERABAD: Telangana has been witnessing a steady rise in the number of active and new cases over the last one week, raising concerns among health workers. Daily cases have exceeded recoveries, setting off alarm bells in the State Health Department.
Between November 21 and November 27, Telangana logged 1,027 Covid-19 cases; the number shot up to 1,308 between November 28 and December 4, a 27 per cent rise in the number of cases week on week.
In the same period, the number of recoveries fell marginally, with 1,100 patients recovering last week, as compared to 1,064 this week. This has lead to a 3 per cent decline in the number of recoveries.
According to the government, a majority of these cases are translating into mild cases which require home isolation. Of the 3,779 active cases, only 1,304 patients are lodged in hospitals. Senior officials of the Health Department also note that viruses naturally tend to spike during winters, leading to the increase in the number of cases.
However, the worry is that several of these positive cases have a large number of secondary contacts. For instance, several large outbreaks were noticed in schools where even if 10 to 25 students test positive, over 200+ secondary contacts are under isolation until the next test is done, casting a shadow on the actual number of people impacted.
The numbers further show that the current rise is being witnessed only in Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal districts, apart from outbreaks in one district or the other over the course of the week.