Don’t be a ‘Covidiot’

Scant respect for Covid-19 precautions, new variants of SARs-CoV-2 push infections to a new high in the State

Hyderabad: Stay home, stay safe is once again becoming the password to safety with the surge in Covid-19 cases over the last one week in Telangana prompting Health officials to urge people to voluntarily stay indoors, postpone religious functions, birthdays, marriages and to avoid mass gatherings and political rallies, at least till the end of June.

Public Health Director Dr G Srinivasa Rao on Saturday said super spreader events such as large gatherings of people with scant respect for Covid-19 precautions, coupled with new variants of SARs-CoV-2, have pushed Covid infections to a new high in the State, which has witnessed an unprecedented rise in Covid cases.

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On Friday, Telangana recorded its biggest jump in infections since the first case was reported in March last year, with 4,446 cases and 12 fatalities in 24 hours.

“We are expecting the cases to continue rising in the coming weeks. The only way to prevent further spread of cases is people voluntarily staying indoors. The government is not looking to impose any kind of restrictions or lockdowns, to save the livelihoods of the needy. Instead of suffering financial agony through lockdowns, we are urging people to postpone marriages, gatherings, birthday parties, religious functions and even political rallies for the next six to eight weeks,” Dr Rao said.

The second wave of Covid-19 is far more severe than the first wave, as infectivity of the new strains and super-spreading events have fuelled more cases. The present variant of the SARS-Cov-2 was found to be spreading fast, especially in close settings like homes and offices.

“It is clear that the virus is being transmitted from one person to another through aerosol transmission. The small respiratory particles or aerosols from the infected persons are getting dispersed in air, which are then inhaled directly from the air. As a result, we are requesting breadwinners in the family, who have to go out to work, to wear a mask even in their homes,” he said.

Carelessness on part of the public in not following precautionary measures too played its part in the cases surging in recent times, officials said. “For the last four to five months, we have been asking people to wear masks, follow social distancing and hand hygiene. However, going by the increase in cases, it is clear that carelessness on the part of the public too has fuelled the Covid-19 second wave,” Dr. Rao added.

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