HYDERABAD: As Covid-19 cases continue to spike in Telangana with a majority of them being reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits, the civic body officials are gearing up to tackle an outbreak of a much larger proportion.
They anticipate the daily average of cases to reach 200-250 in the coming one month — a drastic rise from the current 100-150 being recorded every day from the GHMC limits. “Currently, we are seeing about 100-150 cases. However, this may increase to 200-250 per day. This is a prediction that we are working with.
The spurt in cases can be attributed to the relaxation of lockdown norms and the resultant rise in the movement of the public,” a senior GHMC official told Express. A look at the number of Covid-19 cases arising from the GHMC limits points towards the worrying trend. On June 1, 79 cases were reported, which jumped to 108 on June 3. Within a week, on June 6, the number spiked to 152 and on June 12 it was 133. In the last 12 days alone, 1,361 cases were reported from the GHMC limits.
What is more concerning is that the number of dengue cases are also expected to rise, burdening the public health system further. “Dengue and Covid-19 cases will overlap, which will add to the confusion. Primary health centres must be equipped to distinguish between the two fevers,” a public health expert said.
‘Need to ensure timely help for high-risk Covid patients’
“Either way, focus must be on isolating the patients who are at a high risk of suffering from co-morbidities, such as diabetes, hypertension and COPD, among others, to ensure that they get timely help,” said a public health expert, who did not want to be named. He added, “We are headed for a Delhi-like situation. Due to not roping in private hospitals and setting a price cap on services, we might have a situation wherein government hospitals will have beds but no staff to attend to the patients.”
TS sees 253 Covid cases, 8 deaths
This is the highest single-day spike for Telangana, which now has a total of 4,737 positive cases. The State also recorded eight new deaths on Saturday |