From Our Bureau
17th April 2020
Sixty six fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported in Telangana on Friday, taking the State’s total to 766 confirmed cases. The death toll remained at 18, with no fatality in the last 24 hours. 186 patients were discharged after recovery so far and 562 active confirmed cases are in the hospitals now.
According to a media bulletin from the Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, in view of COVID-19 global pandemic, the State of Telangana has strengthened surveillance, contact tracing and containment measures against the possible spread of disease.
Majority of the cases are in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation areas. Hyderabad district is high focus area. Robust containment is being initiated in GHMC areas. A special strategy is being adopted to contain spread of infection in GHMC areas. In line with 30 GHMC circles, senior officers (doctors) are being identified and vested with the powers of District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) so as to ensure prompt and immediate action. In as many as 13 out of 33 districts in the State, containment is done in 209 clusters.
Till date, there is no evidence of community transmission in Telangana. Seven Diagnostic labs are functional 24/7 to meet the Diagnostic demand. The family contacts and secondary contacts of Markaz, Delhi are being traced, tracked, tested and treated for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Minister for Municipal Administration K T Rama Rao along with Ministers Etela Rajender and Srinivas Goud held a video conference with the Additional Collectors and Municipal Commissioners of all Districts of Telangana State.
KTR directed the authorities to strictly implement the necessary measures in containment zones to contain the spread of Corona virus. He said that there are 260 containment zones in the State out of which 146 fall within GHMC limits and the remaining are spread across 43 municipalities. Municipal commissioners and zonal commissioners were directed to ensure the people living in containment zones stay indoors. He also directed the officials that essentials, including milk, vegetables and medicines, should be delivered at their door steps. The essentials should be delivered only by the volunteers who should be provided with separate dress code.
The needs of the people should be noted by creating Whatsapp groups and the people living in the containment zones will be the group members. The Minister directed the officials to book cases against people living in containment zones who were flouting guidelines that need to be followed. Awareness should be created among people to follow the containment guidelines in order to avoid new positive cases. Sanitation, spraying of disinfectants and a survey to check fever should be done with utmost care.
The Minister also directed that the sanitation workers and staffers spraying disinfectants should be equipped with safety gear and monitored by officials. The officials were directed to stock Sodium Hypochlorite solution in advance. To implement containment guidelines, health, police, water board authorities should co-ordinate among themselves.
To monitor the containment zones, the Minister emphasized on 12 key points: proper barricading, appointing officials form line departments, appointing para medical staff to conduct fever survey, ensuring sanitation and spraying are strictly done, delivery of essentials, people should be informed about containment guidelines to be followed and arrangements made by government via public address system, distribution of pamphlets to households, door to door inspection by medical teams and officials, monitoring of the zones regularly by senior officials, ensuring people don’t step out of their house and regulating their movements, and ambulances on standby in case of emergency and ensuring supply of rice.
Further, he appealed the people to stay where they are as lock down is in force and the government is providing shelter and food to the migrant workers. The officials should inspect the arrangements made to the migrant workers. Self medication is dangerous and the medical agencies to keep data and provide the information to the government on those who are buying medicines for throat and fever infections.
Health Minister Etela Rajender said with recent conduct of palle pragathi and pattana pragathi programmes taken up as per the orders of Chief Minister K.Chandrashekar Rao, the sanitation is better in villages which is an advantage in controlling COVID-19 virus. (eom)
