The State reported six new COVID-19 cases on Friday taking the total number of positive cases to 1,044.
No deaths were reported during the day. The number of patients discharged rose to 464 including the 22 discharged from different hospitals on Friday. The total number of active cases stood at 552, Health Minister Eatala Rajender said.
The Minister said inquiries into the reasons behind 22 cases that were reported on Thursday revealed that these persons were infected through Markaz returnees while five of the six cases reported on Friday too were related to their contacts with COVID positive persons. He refuted claims of a section of political parties and section of individuals that low number of people tested resulted in reporting of lesser number of cases in the State.
“These are charges made with selfish interests or lack of understanding of the realities. There is no public interest involved in these claims,” he said. The government strictly adhered to the guidelines issued by the Indian Council for Medical Research which recommended collection of swab samples of relatives and contacts of persons testing COVID positive while those found asymptomatic should be sent to home quarantine for observation in isolation.
The opposition leaders were not expected to speak without proper understanding of the virus as there would be fluctuation in the number of cases because of various conditions. “The low number of cases in Telangana is due to the stringent measures initiated by the government to contain the spread of the virus ever since the first case was reported early in March,” he said.
It was Telangana government which cautioned the Centre about the possible impact of the virus and sought ban on arrival of flights from the countries impacted by the virus. It was the TRS government which recommended stoppage of movement of trains as they were source of mass transport and could give scope for the spread of the virus. “Telangana is the first State which declared and observed total lockdown since March 22, much before the Centre had announced it,” he said.
The Minister launched an attack on BJP leaders for claiming that the State failed to check the Markaz returnees. “But for effectively chasing those returned from Markaz and treating them in time, the number of cases in the State could have been much higher. The Health and police department officials traced out the affected people and their contacts in spite of attacks on them,” he said adding that more than 250 of the positive cases were identified and over 10,000 contacts were traced and tested in the process.
The Telangana government behaved responsibly in identifying the cases and treating them besides alerting the Centre on the issue,” he said. He cited the huge incidence of COVID in Delhi and questioned why the BJP government at the Centre which had control over the National Capital could not control the spread of the virus there. “This is one such instance where there is no scope for hiding facts and figures relating to the incidence of the virus,” he said.
The Inter Ministerial Central Team showered lavish praises on the steps taken by the State government in containing the spread of the virus, but the BJP leaders were casting aspersions on the team deputed by the government headed by their own party. “Do they want people to suffer because of such ailments? What do they want to achieve by raising doubts on the appreciation by the Central team?” he asked.
Asked about the Centre announcing extension of lockdown by two more weeks giving relaxations from May 4, he said a decision about the next course of action would be taken at the State Cabinet meeting scheduled on May 5. The guidelines given by the Centre relating to different sectors would be examined and decisions would be taken accordingly.
