Congregation of people at functions or other occasions without paying heed to COVID-appropriate behaviour has led to spread of coronavirus in clusters. This was one of the findings of a high-level team of Health department which examined the reasons for continued prevalence of the virus in some pockets of the State.
A high-level team headed by Principal Secretary Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi visited some pockets of nine districts — Nagarjunasagar, Miryalaguda and Nakrekal in Nalgonda, Suryapet, Dornakal in Mahabubabad, Huzurabad in Karimnagar, Mancherial, Peddapalli, Godavarikhani, Sircilla, and Warangal. They visited the localities in second week of July and submitted a report to the State Cabinet.
Director of Medical Education K. Ramesh Reddy, who mentioned the findings from the visit on Tuesday, said the coronavirus prevalence was restricted to only a few villages and not to entire districts. If the prevalence there is not addressed, the virus could spread to neighbouring villages or districts there by leading to third wave, he said.
Superintendents of hospitals where COVID-19 patients are admitted were asked to map villages and mandals of the patients concerned to know if there is surge in cases in any locality.
The senior official said that taking precautionary measures to arrest and address the virus spread in some of the pockets can delay the third wave by some more months.