The COVID second wave in Telangana has come to an end, said Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr. G. Srinivasa Rao on Wednesday.
However, a large number of unvaccinated eligible people, lack of COVID appropriate behaviour, and a new variant, could trigger a third wave, he said. Currently, large gatherings for celebrations, and crowd at food outlets, were being witnessed.
“If R factor (reproductive number of virus), new cases reported, daily positivity rate, and hospital admissions, are considered, we can say that the COVID situation is under control. The R Factor value is 0.7%. We should be worried if it is above 1%. The positivity rate is 0.5%,” said Dr. Srinivasa at a press conference at the Health campus on Wednesday.
At the peak of the second wave, 1,01,22 cases were detected on April 26. Over a lakh samples were tested in a day during that time, and the number of COVID patients in ICUs crossed 4,100.
Currently, around 80,000-90,000 samples are being examined in a day and 400-450 people are detected with coronavirus. The number of COVID patients in ICUs is around 1,200.
Meanwhile, Health officials pointed out that only 30-40% people were maintaining precautions such as use of mask, and hand hygiene.
“People stop taking precautions when cases come down. Delta variant is prevalent in only a few States now. But, you are seeing how 130 countries are still struggling with the variant. So, people should continue following COVID protocols,” he said.
