After a brief lull, Telangana witnessed a sudden spike in the Covid-19 cases, including three deaths, on Thursday night. The state was expecting that it would become coronavirus-free by the first week of May.
There had been no deaths in Telangana since April 23, and the number of positive cases was also within single digits. On Thursday, however, the state reported 22 cases and three deaths – all in Hyderabad. With this addition, the overall number of Covid-19 cases in Telangana mounted to 1,038 while the total number of deaths touched 28.
According to the Telangana medical and health department authorities, only people with serious co-morbid conditions are succumbing to the disease.
The dead included a 48-year-old man with diabetes, hypertension, obesity and pneumonia in Ramanthapur; a 76-year-old man with chronic heart and kidney ailments and pneumonia in Vanasthalipuram; and a 44-year-old woman with blood pressure, sugar and pneumonia in Ziaguda.
The health authorities discovered that the 22 new coronavirus positive cases had originated in Malakpet Gunj, a wholesale groceries market. Apparently, it originated from two workers hailing from Pahadi Shareef in the old city of Hyderabad and they are alleged to have transmitted the virus to three shop owners. All the family members of the shop owners also have tested positive.
The health authorities have declared Malakpet Gunj and Pahadi Shareef areas containment zones and said strict lockdown measures would be implemented to contain further spread.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao held an emergency meeting with the officials of the health department, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and the police to discuss the steps to contain the spread of the disease.
He asked health authorities to strictly implement the lockdown restrictions at all the containment zones in Hyderabad. He instructed that focus should be laid on breaking the transmission chains across the containment zones in Hyderabad. He also directed officials from different departments to put up a coordinated effort to contain Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the Centre has declared six districts in Telangana – Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Suryapet, Vikarabad and Warangal (Urban) – as Red Zone districts. Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh, five districts – Kurnool, Krishna, Guntur, Nellore and Chittoor – have been declared as Red Zones.
The lockdown will continue in these Red Zone districts even after May 3, when the Centre is planning to lift restrictions on certain sectors.
In the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the number of Covid-19 positive cases continue to rise. By Friday afternoon, 60 new positive cases and two more deaths were recorded in the state, taking the total number cases in the state to 1,463 and the deaths to 33.
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