The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Telangana peaked between the third week of April and first week of May, overruning hospitals and even crematoriums, and causing massive financial and emotional devastation for people.
It was in the second week of March that the second wave showed signs of rising in the State. The number of COVID tests was increased from the third week of the month. The cases and deaths which increased gradually till the end of March witnessed a sharp spike from the following month.
While 1,088 people tested positive for coronavirus in the first week of March, it gradually increased to 1,307 in the second week, 2,137 in the third week, and 3,287 in the fourth week of the month. The daily tests increased from around 40,000 a day to 55,000-60,000 a day.
Devastating April
In April, the numbers spiralled. While 9,928 cases were detected in the first week, it rose exponentially in the second week to touch 19,341 infections and then swiftly surged to 35,423 in the third week. The fourth week of April saw 54,492 cases, the point when the second wave peaked.
The highest number of daily cases was recorded in the same month when 10,122 persons tested positive on April 26. The daily tests were increased to 1 lakh to 1.3 lakh a day from April 8 to 24. Fatalities rose from single-digit numbers to more than 50 a day. It first happened on April 27 when 52 persons died due to COVID-related complications. However, during this time, doctors in government and private hospitals alleged that deaths were being under-reported.
Decline from May
The virus continued to rage in May first week too and then started to dip gradually. Incidentally, the Telangana government imposed a State-wide lockdown from May 12 to arrest the spread of infections.
While 43,839 people were detected with the virus in the first week, the count of cases dropped to 23,317 in the last week of the month.
In case of deaths too, the numbers began declining gradually.
There was huge variation in the daily tests in this month, which did not go unnoticed by the common people or the High Court. From around 75,000 tests a day, it fell to around 65,000 and were then increased to over 90,000 on a daily basis. The least number of tests were conducted on Sundays, as has been the norm since the beginning of the pandemic.
In June, the cases are still on decline and the lockdown continues, although the hours of relaxation is gradually being increased. Currently, around 2,000 to 2500 people are testing positive in a day. These many cases per day during the first wave was considered high. Senior officials of the Health department said that the cases will further drop in coming days.
However, people must continue to observe COVID-appropriate behaviour such as wearing masks, physical distancing and hand hygiene to stay safe, they advise. Apart from these precautions, vaccines can give a layer of protection to people and prevent the infection from assuming a severe form, if one were to contract it post vaccination, the officials have stressed.
