HYDERABAD: After rising for over a month-and-a-half, the Covid-19 third was on a downward curve and now it has almost come to an end in the State, said Dr G Srinivasa Rao, Director of Public Health (DPH). Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, he said that the third wave at its peak saw only six per cent hospital bed occupancy and it had now fallen to four per cent, of which two per cent patients were from other States indicating low mortality and morbidity.
The Health Director described the third wave as a mild one as it spared Telangana due to its impressive vaccination rates — over 100 per cent first dose coverage and 88 per cent second dose coverage, both higher than the national average.
He also urged all schools and educational institutions to discourage online education, going forward. “Two years of online education is leading to severe mental health issues, eyesight problems and disorientation issues in children. In Fact if this does not stop, we would see literacy rate plummeting.
As a public health expert, I urge all schools to resume physical classes,” he said.He also asked offices, specially those in the IT sector, to pause the Work From Home option and encourage physical office visits to ensure mental health and domestic family conditions come back to normal.