It would be prudent to rethink about outdoor visits or tour plans scheduled in the coming four weeks as COVID cases in Telangana are estimated to peak by the end of January. Director of Public Health Dr. G. Srinivasa Rao said that cases might fall again by the middle of February.
COVID cases started to surge in the State in the last two days. However, restrictions on movement seem to be unlikely. There have been mixed views among people about this move.
The DPH said, “The Health department has advised the government to not impose any new restrictions. Along with COVID, we are worried about the livelihood of people.”
When asked about why the government was reluctant to impose restrictions, and why were political parties allowed to conduct rallies when other States were imposing curbs, Dr. Srinivasa Rao said that they take action as per the guidelines issued by the Government of India.
“The guidelines say that restrictions have to be imposed when the positivity is more than 10%, and when admissions go up to more than 40%. And that too decentralised restrictions,” he said at a press conference held in Hyderabad on Thursday. The current positivity rate in the State is around 3.5%.
When asked if they were waiting for the cases to explode, the senior Health official said that the Health department was taking all precautions and he was not the person concerned to answer this question.
Political leaders were requested to cancel all kinds of programmes such as cadre meeting, public meetings and rallies for the next four weeks.
He added that it was the responsibility of people to take all precautions against COVID spread. “Mask up, avoid unnecessary gatherings, maintain physical distancing, vaccinate and take other precautions,” he said.
