HYDERABAD: The Telangana Health Department has issued a public health advisory asking all those who took part in political rallies, gatherings and meetings in the run-up to the GHMC municipal elections to isolate themselves for a week. The announcement was made at a press meet by the Director of Public Health Dr G Srinivas Rao and Director of Medical Education Dr K Ramesh Reddy on Wednesday.
“We have seen intensive election campaigns which increased public interaction. All those who were part of these must strictly follow home isolation for 7 days at least and if they suspect infection or get symptoms must get tested at the nearest government facility,” said Dr Rao. To further encourage testing, he urged people to raise queries on testing centres etc at 104 or a new number designated for the same: 04024651119.
Cautioning those involved in political activities to wear masks at home as well as avoid any spread to their families, he said the public alone held the key to delaying the second wave. “Our analysis suggests that the second wave as seen in other states will take place sometime this month and the next month. To delay and defuse this, people must be very cautious and exercise restraint in gatherings,” he said.
Citing the example of Jagtial, a district in Telangana, he said that due to certain weddings, events and gatherings, the daily cases shot up from 30-odd to 100 indicating a localised outbreak. The GHMC limits are also likely to see this with the onset of winter, GHMC elections and wedding season.
He further assured that testing will increase in GHMC limits by bringing in 50 additional testing centres. The positivity rate in December is just 1.1% which is a very encouraging sign compared to the beginning of the pandemic when it was 23%.
Meanwhile, Dr K Ramesh Reddy assured sufficient oxygen availability and urged people to isolate at home if diagnosed with COVID-19 and not hesitate to use the nearest government facility, of which 62 have dedicated COVID facilities, if the condition worsened. The present bed occupancy is less than 10%, indicative of sufficient beds.