March 2023 saw a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in many States, including Telangana. However, the officials assure that the situation is not alarming and that they are sufficiently equipped to deal with any spurt of the viral infection.
The cases reported in the State per day between January and mid-February were in single digits. The numbers rose above 10 in the third week of February. On March 1, the total number of cases recorded in the State was 21, and as many as 42 cases were recorded on March 9, followed by 52 cases on March 14 and 54 cases on March 15. These were the highest number of cases recorded per day post-November 2022. As of March 28, Telangana logged 23 cases, lower than the previous week’s record.
Speaking to The Hindu, a senior health official said that there is nothing alarming about this surge in cases being witnessed in March. “It is basically a trend which can be observed across the country. We have definitely reviewed the hospital bed availability so as to ensure that all the services are ready and available in case of a rapid surge,” the official says.
People with comorbidities should be careful as they are more susceptible to infection and might need extra oxygen support in case of severe infection. The official also clarified that there was no correlation between this slight increase in the number of cases in March and the increase in COVID-19 cases.
Centre’s advisory
On March 16, the government of India issued an advisory to six States, including Telangana directing the States to do a micro-level examination of the COVID-19 spread and to focus on the implementation of necessary measures for prompt and effective management.
The State governments were asked to monitor Influenza-like illness and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) cases at all health facilities or through dedicated fever clinics on a regular basis, genomic sequencing for prescribed samples of international passengers, collection of samples from sentinel sites and a local cluster of cases were told to be maintained.
It is essential that the State must maintain a strict watch and take pre-emptive action in any areas of concern to control the emerging spread of infection, the advisory stated.
Mock Drill on April 11 and 12
As a response to the increasing cases, various State governments across the country are conducting mock drills to check for COVID-19 preparedness. The Telangana government is planning to conduct a mock drill on April 11 and 12 at all government hospitals.
As part of the drill, the Health Department will assess the availability of facilities like oxygen beds and ventilators. The last such drill conducted in the State was on December 26, 2022.
50 cases of XBB 1.16 variant in Telangana
According to the data of the Indian Sars-Cov-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) from the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, there are about a total of 50 cases in the XBB variant of COVID-19, out of which 37 cases belong to the XBB 1.16 variant, and 17 cases belong to the XBB 1.16.1 variant.
In India, there are a total of 511 cases of the XBB 1.16 variant, the highest is in Gujarat (289), followed by Maharashtra (114) and Telangana. Dr. Kiran Madala, an ICMR-certified researcher from Hyderabad, said, “The World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet recognised this variant as a concern. So far, their data shows that the concerning variant is XBB 1.5. The WHO statistics reveal that even though the cases are high, the corresponding hospitalisation cases are very low compared to the previous variants.
At the Government Chest Hospital in Hyderabad, there are no positive cases. People coming with pulmonary issues are getting screened here, and if any issues are found, we are admitting them and conducting tests, said hospital Superintendent hospital Dr. Mahaboob Khan.
Vaccinations
As per the COVID-19 bulletin released on March 28, a total of 7.75 crore in the State have been administered the COVID-19 vaccine, out of which Dose 1 has been administered to 3.24 crore people, Dose 2 has been taken by 3.15 crore people, and precautionary dose has been administered to 1.35 crore people in the State.
While 7.3 crore people took the vaccine at a government facility, the remaining 45 lakh were vaccinated at a private facility. There are still 1.71 crore people who are yet to take the vaccine, as per the bulletin.
Covishield vaccine went out of stock on February 10, and 820 doses of Covaxin are left at Cold Chain Points (CCP) and District Vaccine Stores (DVS).
