One more person died due to COVID in Telangana, taking the tally to 25.The total number of COVID cases in the State touched 970 as 27 more cases were detected on Thursday.
Amid the gloom, there was some news to cheer about as 58 people who were cured of the disease were discharged. Many more are expected to be discharged in the coming days.
Of the 27 cases reported on Thursday, 13 were from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, 10 from Jogulamba-Gadwal district, said Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajender at a press conference. One case each was reported in Kumaram Bheem, Medchal, Jangaon and Rangareddy districts.
As on April 23, out of the total 970 cases recorded in the State, 693 are active, 252 were discharged and 25 people died.
Mr Rajender compared various aspects related to COVID to drive a point about the State’s performance. While the national average of doubling rate (an indicator of how quickly cases increase) is 7.5 days, it is 12.5 days in Telangana.
“While the national average of death rate is 3.18%, it is 2.6% in Telangana. In case of recovery rate, it is 19.9% at all India level, while ours is 22%,” Mr Rajender said.
A review meeting on facilities, issues, measures taken at COVID-19 hospitals in the State was held by the Health Minister on Thursday. Superintendent of Gandhi Hospital Dr M Raja Rao, professors, Special Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, Director of Medical Education Dr K Ramesh Reddy attended the meeting. Procedure followed to admit, test, treat and discharge patients was discussed.
To decrease the death rate, Mr Rajender directed officials to put in all efforts, use all treatment options to save patients when their condition turns critical. Different sections of the society have been pointing out lack of required number of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), N95 masks, and testing kits. He said the stock of PPEs and N95 masks has crossed 4 lakhs and 4.5 lakhs respectively.
Earlier, the strategy implemented in containing spread of the virus in Karimnagar was hailed as a success. When asked why the number of cases in Suryapet, Gadwal and other districts was rising, Mr Rajender said it took almost 10 days to show results in Karimnagar and it would take some days to see the same impact in other districts.
