Covid second wave can last up to three months in TS: DPH

Director of Public Health, Dr G Srinivasa Rao urged people to be responsible and follow Covid appropriate behaviour

Hyderabad: The second wave of Covid-19 in Telangana is expected to continue for at least next two to three months before the infections start dropping, Director of Public Health, Dr G Srinivasa Rao said here on Tuesday.

The Delta variant is extremely transmissible and contagious. “As a result it continues to remain active across Telangana,” the senior official said.

Ever since the lifting of lockdown restrictions, people are under the impression that the Covid pandemic has receded fully in the State. And the compliance to Covid appropriate behaviour has fallen by at least 40 per cent. “The practice of wearing masks and physical distancing have reduced significantly among public,” lamented Dr Srinivasa Rao, while interacting with media persons today.

During the recent visit to districts including Peddapalli, Mancherial, Khammam, and Suryapet where daily infections had surged, the team of senior public health officials observed a general lack of adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour during large gatherings like funerals, marriages, birthday parties, festivals and political rallies.

Director of Medical Education (DME) Dr K Ramesh Reddy said, “We fear that such behaviour could trigger a third and more serious wave of Covid infections. We must realise that the second wave is quite different to first wave, which saw swift drop in infections. The Delta variant is highly transmissible and more severe.”

Health officials urged people, especially the younger demographic, which is going out, to wear masks indoors too. “Younger population must realise that there are elders at home, who are susceptible to Delta virus. They not only must wear masks outdoors but also indoors, so that other family members are not infected. People should realise that Delta variant spreads through air and can infect the entire family within hours,” Dr Srinivasa Rao, warned.

The second wave has been quite active in the districts and as part of containment measures, the health department is making efforts to map daily admissions.

“We are trying our hand at mapping the location of positive patients. On majority of the occasions, the surge was related to large gatherings like funerals, marriages or family get-togethers. As a result of this, Covid infections have either surged or remain static and have not reduced swiftly in Telangana,” they said.

Important points:

1. Covid second wave to continue for two to three months
2. Highly contagious Delta variant active in the community
3. Compliance to masks and physical distancing drop by 40 per cent
4. Fear of surge in infections if people continued to ignore precautions
5. 50 per cent of the targeted population has received the first dose of vaccine
6. Oveall, about 1.34 crore individuals in TS vaccinated
7. Covid appropriate behaviour is must both outdoors and indoors

Also read:

Delta variant continues to remain active in Telangana

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