The State reported 11 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the number of virus affected persons to 1,096.
No deaths were reported during the day keeping the number at 29. In all, 43 persons were discharged from different hospitals taking the total number to 628. The total number of active cases in different hospitals was 439.
Announcing this after a meeting of the State Cabinet, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said the planned and strategic manner in which the government acted after the first case was reported ensured successful containment of the virus. He recalled how Karimnagar was declared as containment zone after 11 Indonesians who were tested positive spent several days there.
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The government alerted police, health and other departments and took steps which ensured that there was not a single death. “Telangana became role model for the country in declaring containment zones and taking adequate measures in advance,” he said adding that the the government quickly understood the intensity and density of the virus and successfully contained it so far.
The State was far ahead of the national average in terms of several parameters like recovery rate. The death rate was much lower at 2.64 as compared to national average of 3.67 while the recovery rate was 57.3 against national average of 27.4.
The State, Mr. Rao said, was successful in flattening the curve and it was now time to intensity efforts to bring it down to zero. Recalling his interaction with representatives of pharma companies earlier in the day, he said firms like Bharat Biotech, Biological Evans and Shanta Biotech assured him that the virus for the vaccine was likely to be ready by August/September.
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“I am hopeful that the State will be leading the country and the world in the discovery of the vaccine,” he added.