Updated: June 23, 2020 8:52:18 pm
The sharp increase in cases, according to government officials, is the result of increased testing.
Thirty-five-year-old Sheikh Mujahid Ali, a lawyer from Bahadurpura in Hyderabad, had high fever for the last four days. Although he is taking medicines prescribed by the neighboring doctor, he has a fever and he has also caused body pain. The doctor has now asked him to undergo COVID-19 test. “I am working from home and always wear a mask. I have also been ensuring personal hygiene and physical disturbances. I don’t think I can get infected with the virus, but let’s see, “Ali said, standing outside a corporate diagnostic center in Himayatnagar on Tuesday morning.
In the center, however, a banner reading – “No Covid-19 Test Sample Collection” – hangs near the main gate. For those wishing to undergo the test, it directed them to the testing centers of the diagnostic centers at four locations – Gachibowli, Karkhana, Karmaghat and Moosapet.
Security guards guarding the complex, and controlling traffic outside the gate, can be seen having a tough time with scores of people coming for the COVID-19 test in the past week.
Since June 15, the state government has allowed ICMR-accredited private laboratories and diagnostic centers to conduct COVID-19 tests, while reducing the cost of a test at Rs 2,200 and Rs 2800 if samples are collected from home , So many people want. The virus continues to undergo RT-PCR testing.
The Himayatnagar Center is also listed as one of the 17 ICMR-approved private RT-PCR-based testing laboratories in Telangana with symptoms of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza-like-illness (ILI). To test those.
Asked why he would not visit the nearby government center at Raja Koti Hospital, Ali said he would prefer a private hospital over a government facility.
Shaik Abdul Rabbani (22), a laser therapist by profession, arrived at the diagnostic center on a two-wheeler along with his colleague. After reading the banner, he was discussing with his colleague where to go for the test that his employer had asked both of them to work. “I have a cough and a headache but no other problems. Just to be safe, my company has asked me to undergo a test, ”he said.
Increasing number of cases
In the past one week, Telangana has reported a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases, recording a new high each day. Since June 15, the state has seen 3,268 new cases. It also means that, about 42 percent of the total cases of the previous week have been recorded. As of 22 June, the total confirmed positive cases are 8674. 4,452 of them are active cases. The positivity ratio was 28 percent, with 872 positive cases against 3189 samples tested on Monday.
# COVID19 # Telangana
Active Case-2412
Confirmation Cases-5675
Total samples tested – 45,911
Deaths-192
Positive Cases Today-269 (214 in #Hyabad) @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/WmcyenB4dF– Rahul V Pisharody (@rahulvpisharody) June 17, 2020
The sharp increase in cases, according to government officials, is the result of increased testing. After facing much criticism over reduced testing and not allowing private hospitals and diagnostic centers to conduct COVID-19 tests despite ICMR approval, the state government finally allowed private players to join the fight against COVID permitted to.
Also, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao also announced his decision to conduct 50,000 tests in 30 assembly constituencies in Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Vikarabad, Sangareddy and Medchal Malkajgiri districts, starting from June 16. These tests were to be conducted among frontline activists. Health service, sanitation, municipal, and police departments are included, and also those who live in the zoning zone.
The government planned to test existing positive cases and all contacts with people who show symptoms of SARI and ILI. According to Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, the government’s decision was a confidence-building measure among the weaker categories. He reiterated that there was no community broadcasting in Telangana, as the ICMR-run seroserve surveillance data suggested.
Of the 3297 samples, 730 new cases were tested in #Telangana today. Active cases increase to 3861 and fatalities to 210. @drgsrao @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/TdtQ7460t0
– Rahul V Pisharody (@rahulvpisharody) June 21, 2020
Between June 16 and June 22, the state tested 15,812 samples to detect 3,268 positive cases. With three more days to meet the 10-day deadline, the state now has a tough target of testing 34188 samples in three days.
This week, the death toll has crossed the 200 mark and now stands at 217. According to data shared by the Office of the Director of Public Health, the highest number of deaths from coronovirus has been in patients with comorbidity such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. According to data shared on 17 June, 35 people have died out of a total of 202 deaths, with no humor. For the age-wise distribution of cases, the data shows that the maximum number of patients was in the age group of 26 to 40 years.
Spike in cases was expected: DME, Telangana
Speaking to Indianexpress.com, the Director of Medical Education, Dr. K. Ramesh Reddy attributed the recent increase to the increasing number of tests conducted by the state. According to him, Telangana, which differs from other states, focuses on testing the vulnerable people of the target groups, and therefore increases the ratio of positivity.
After a week of testing more specimens, he said that there has been no change in the pool of asymptomatic patients in the state. “Up to 85% of tested positives have no symptoms. They are supervised and monitored by public health channels. Only 70 to 80 cases a day occur in hospitals. As a precaution, we are keeping only those with symptoms and those with severe comorbidity in hospitals, ”Dr. Reddy said.
As per the data shared by the Office of the Director of Public Health, 34 government hospitals are identified in Telangana and 17,081 beds are placed for COVID-19 treatment. As of June 19, the number of occupied beds is only 976, which is 5.71 percent of the capacity. There are 10,970 empty isolation beds in COVID hospitals, 3227 empty beds with oxygen support in COVID hospitals, 1448 ICU beds and 460 ventilator beds in COVID hospitals across the state.
The DME says that the current increase of cases is also not worrying as adequate facilities are available. “The fundamental difference between Telangana and other states is that we are strictly following the ICMR guidelines. Due to the proper implementation of home quarantine as soon as the guidelines are passed by the Center, we do not have any restriction in the hospitals. Hospital beds are for moderate, severe or severe comorbidity. The government is ensuring institutional segregation in hospitals for those who do not have proper accommodation or isolation facilities at home. “Even today the occupation of the hospital in Gandhi Hospital is hardly 560. People need not panic from this situation,” he said.
When asked about neighboring Andhra Pradesh, which is currently testing more than 24,000 samples a day, DME said the difference between AP and Telangana is that the latter is based on the target group rather than randomly taking samples Focuses where many of them are negative for infection.
Is targeted testing enough?
V Ramana Dhara, a public health expert with the Public Health Foundation of India, confounds the purpose behind testing the entire population. “The point of testing is, first of all, to find cases, separate them, and then locate contacts. The recommendation is that this should be done through a syndromic surveillance approach by testing ILI cases. But also trace contacts. That should be done, ”says Dr. Dhara, who is also an additional professor at the Indian Institute of Public Health, Hyderabad,
President of the Health Service Reform Doctors Association (HRDA), Dr. Mahesh Kumar feels that the state government should not be complacent and should prepare itself for the peak of the disease. The government should expedite all pending recruitments to strengthen human resources and prepare necessary infrastructure. According to him, government-run facilities are not equipped to handle a peak.
“There should be no capping on the number of tests. We should test as much as possible. Why not follow Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana or Punjab and conduct a household survey to look at and segregate SARI cases in their homes. Dr. “Early detection and observation is important to prevent one’s condition from deteriorating,” says Kumar, adding that the government should make every effort to spread greater awareness.
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