Covid third wave started in Telangana, says health officials
Hyderabad: The steady rise in daily Covid positive infections not only in Telangana but across the country in the last few days is a clear indication that the third Covid wave driven by the Omicron variant has started and was in the initial phases, Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao here on […]
Hyderabad: The steady rise in daily Covid positive infections not only in Telangana but across the country in the last few days is a clear indication that the third Covid wave driven by the Omicron variant has started and was in the initial phases, Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao here on Thursday said.
In few days, Telangana and other Indian states will witness an unprecedented spike in Covid positive infections, which was not the case in earlier waves. However, the rise in infections does not mean that one should panic, as the third wave is expected to drop as quickly as it started, he said.
There is clear evidence of community spread of Omicron variant in the entire country and we are witnessing the same in Telangana. Even during the second Delta wave, we have been transparent and alerted about community transmission. In fact, we were the first ones to alert people about Delta variant and air-borne transmission. With Omicron, in closed spaces it is highly transmissible and that’s why people must wear masks and interiors or closed spaces must have good ventilation,” Dr Rao said.
In the context of the third wave due to the Omicron variant, the next two to four weeks would be crucial and citizens must take extreme precautions by wearing tight-fitting masks not only outdoors but even indoors and avoid gatherings.
In the past two days, the positivity rate of Covid infections in the State has started to rise from 0.6 per cent, especially in GHMC and other urban centres. “There will be an exponential rise in Covid infections and even if we take only 1 per cent of positive cases needing hospital admissions. There could be a significant surge in demand for hospital beds in the coming weeks,” he warned.
Instead of losing sleep over what kind of SARS-CoV-2 variant they have, Covid positive patients must focus on getting isolated and recovering. The swift rise in Covid infections should be an indication that it is happening due to the Omicron variant, he said.
At some point in the coming days, due to the significant spike in Covid positive infections, there will come a time when conducting genetic sequencing tests for all Covid positive cases to ascertain Omicron status will not be feasible, as Telangana has just two genetic sequencing labs while there are 56 in the country.
Roughly, 90 per cent of persons testing positive for Omicron do not have symptoms. The remaining 10 per cent may have some symptoms of cold and Covid, which should not be neglected. They should get themselves tested at the nearest government health care facility, he said.
Covid positive patients with symptoms must get themselves tested, collect their home isolation kits and remain in isolation till they recover.
“We have learned a lot from the first and second Covid waves and this is time for all of us to take extreme precautions. During Delta wave, the maximum daily Covid infections in Telangana were 10,000. However, during third Covid wave, infections are likely to increase to five times or even further,” Dr Srinivasa Rao added.
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