Telangana, Andhra report spike in Covid-19 infections; positive cases cross 1,000

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have witnessed a multi-fold jump in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last four weeks, though the intensity of the pandemic in both states is not as high as the neighbouring states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.

As per the official figures, in Telangana, the number of positive cases, which were around 150 in the first week of March, shot up to 1,321 on April 4 - the highest that the state reported this year. However, the number came down to 1,097 by Sunday night.

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“There has been a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases in Telangana since the second week of January when the first wave of vaccination process began. The number was hovering around 100 cases. But from the second week of March, there has been an increase in the number of cases,” a health department official said.

The official state health bulletins indicated that there has been a steady rise in the number of positive cases in the last month, with periodical fluctuations. Even the number of fatalities due to Covid-19, which were around one or two, has now gone up to around six deaths per day.

“But the situation is not very alarming. Despite rising infections across the country, the number of Covid-19 cases has continued to remain under control in Telangana,” health minister Eatala Rajender told reporters after a video conference with Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday.

Rajender said the infection spread is mostly confined to urban areas like Hyderabad, Medchal-Malkajgiri and the surrounding areas. Unlike last year, so far hospitalisations due to Covid-19 infections have remained under control, he said.

Rajender urged the Centre to provide more Covid-19 vaccine stock so that the vaccination process could be expedited across Telangana.

The minister said all the government hospitals across Telangana had adequate staff, stock of medicine and liquid oxygen for Covid-19 positive patients. “There is an adequate number of beds available at private and government hospitals and there is no need to panic. We are confident that Telangana should be able to contain any further spread of infections,” Rajender said.

At present, the total number of positive cases in the state stood at 3,13,237 while the cumulative number of deaths was at 1,723. As of Sunday, there were 8,746 active Covid-19 cases in the State.

In Andhra Pradesh, too, there has been a sudden spurt in the number of Covid-19 positive cases. On March 1, the number of positive cases was just 58 which went up to 1,326 on Monday. The state reported the highest number of cases (1,730) on Sunday, the highest this year. The number of deaths, which were zero on the first of March, has now gone up to five.

“Vaccination is the only solution to tackle the Covid-19 infections. We have intensified the vaccination programme and have targeted to vaccinate 90 lakh people,” health commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar said.