Delta danger lurks in Telangana, warn experts

Variant remains active in at least 10 districts, including areas under GHMC

Hyderabad: The highly infectious and fast spreading Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is very much active in Telangana and people must take precautionary measures to ensure it does not trigger a third wave, public health officials here warn.

The gradual rise of the reproductive rate (R value) of the Delta variant, which indicates the speed or chances of Covid infection spreading to others, across the country, and the reluctance of the variant to taper-off, have become a cause of concern. There are at least 10 districts of the State, including areas under GHMC, that have continued to report more number of fresh Covid infections on a daily basis.

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While many had expected and predicted a drop in Covid infections after the second wave peak of April/May, this has not been the case. In fact, the SUTRA Covid India projections from researchers of IIT Hyderabad and IIT Kanpur have now started to indicate a little divergence between the actual data and projections of Covid infections.

The seven day projected average of Covid infections by SUTRA model as on July 30 was about 220 cases in Telangana. However, the actual seven day average of Covid infections across the State has been hovering between 600 and 700, a clear indication that the Delta variant continues to remain active in Telangana.

“The Delta variant spreads faster, and could potentially trigger severe illness among positive patients. We have seen that patients are taking more time to recover from Delta variant. It is active in at least 10 districts in Telangana and it is our responsibility to ensure it does not turn into a third wave,” Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao said.

The public health official took a serious exception to instances where individuals, despite knowing that they had tested positive, are not isolating themselves. “For the past few months, we have been consistently cautioning people on the severity of the Delta variant. We had also urged people to stick to wearing masks even indoors. All of us must realise that Covid precautions is the only way to escape subsequent surge in infections,” Dr Rao said.

 

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