COVID-19 Almost In Community Spread Mode In Telangana: Official

HYDERABAD: Telangana which continues to maintain worrisome trend with spike in COVID-19 cases with each passing day, has now almost entered into a stage of "Community Transmission'', said Director of Health Services G. Srinivasa Rao. The Telangana health department on Thursday practically admitted that there has been community spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Rao said that COVID-19 virus has spread into the community and no one knows who is a carrier of the virus and who is not.

He warned the public to stay extremely cautious for the next four to five weeks as they are going to be crucial.

Speaking about the number of cases across the state, he said that the number of COVID-19 cases being registered in GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation) limits are gradually witnessing a downfall. In contrast to this, coronavirus cases in tier-two cities like Karimnagar, Warangal Nizamabad are increasing, said Rao.

He expressed displeasure on the unabated trend of people stepping out of their homes without following any precautionary measures.

He said that the majority of the people in the state are following precautionary measures but a few are not taking any safety measures.

The director of health services urged people not to ignore any of the signs of ill-health, especially COVID-19 symptoms like fever, dry cough, cold and others.

People who don't follow precautionary measures like wearing a mask and following social distance, not only affect their lives but even put others at the risk of getting infected with COVID-19 as potential carriers of the virus.

Rao reminded people: "We need to get used to living with the virus, which only means we have to take enough care to protect ourselves from the dangers of the illness."

Telangana reported 1,567 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. With this, the total number of coronavirus cases in the state rose to 50,826. Nine deaths have been reported, taking the total deaths due to the virus to 447 across the state.

A total of 39,327 patients were cured and discharged from hospitals. Currently, there are 11,052 active cases in the state.