HYDERABAD: While there is a significant spike in the number of Covid-19 cases across the city, a substantial number of them happened to be frontline workers from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), police and health departments.
Officials point out that, out of 1,474 cases recorded across GHMC on Wednesday, around 20% of them happened to frontline workers. According to data gathered by the Telangana Junior Doctors Association (TJUDA), 20 MBBS students, 10 house surgeons, six post-graduate students and four faculty members in Gandhi Hospital have tested positive since the beginning of the month.
As many as 79 frontline workers were tested positive at Osmania Medical College, since the beginning of this year. Of them, 19 were MBBS students, 35 were house surgeons, 23 were PG students and two of them were assistant professors. The situation at health care centres across Malakpet, Puranapul, Lal Darwaza, Darushifa, and Dabeerpura stands worse as they have been facing shortage of doctors.
Within GHMC limits, many workers from entomology department take up the fogging and sanitisation work in Covid-infected areas. Officials note that the data on frontline workers who tested positive have not been segregated yet. There are around 38,000 sanitation workers in the city and over 70% of them happen to be employed on a contract basis. “So far at least 47 workers who have been sent to Omicron-hot spots for sanitation like Tolichowki, Paramount Colony, Banjara Hills and Old City have been tested positive,” a senior GHMC official said.
Officials announced on Wednesday that, around 1,000 police personnel within the three commissionerates in the city have tested positive. The highest being 700 from the Hyderabad commissionerate.
