Hyderabad: The Coronavirus pandemic in Telangana is really bad, the government warned Wednesday.
The situation is as bad in the state as in Maharashtra, with chances of the Covid-19 virus now being airborne, the hospitals in Hyderabad and elsewhere are unavailable for people and rate of spread is fastest since the pandemic began.
The Telangana health department issued a dire warning today, saying the fast-spreading Coronavirus could well be airborne in the state now.
If people do not step up to help prevent its spread, then Telangana could well turn into another Maharashtra, which is reporting upwards of 50,000 and 60,000 new Covid-19 cases a day.
In a video message evening, Director of Health Services Dr G. Srinivasa Rao said the fast rate of infections among people could also well mean the virus could now be airborne.
“Presently, the virus is spreading very fast, very very fast. If someone in a family is infected, then it is just taking a few hours, or at most a day or two for others in the family also to get infected by Covid-19, especially in closed settings of homes,” he said.
“It will not be a stretch to say the virus is now airborne,” he said.
“The government has so far advised people to wear masks in public places. From now on, you must wear a mask even at home. Anyone who goes out, there is a chance of catching the virus and infecting others at home. If anyone in the family is vulnerable, then they have to be hospitalized. There could be an increased loss of lives. Please take precautions,” Dr Rao said.
“People must scrupulously follow safety precautions. People must wear face masks properly and adhere to all safety norms. It is the responsibility of each individual to stay safe,” he said.
“Government has no plans for any lockdowns or restrictions. It does not mean the situation is not dangerous. Situation is extremely dangerous. The government is not imposing any restrictions only to ensure the livelihoods are not affected,” he said.
“We have witnessed a surge in Corona cases over the past four weeks. We can expect a similar situation to continue for the next four to six weeks,” he said.
Dr Rao warned that the situation was serious enough to start worrying about availability of hospital beds for people coming down with Covid-19.
“Thousands of hospital beds are available. Government is doing all it can. But if the current pace of infections continues, day is not far when hospital beds will become scarce. There are already several reports that some hospitals have run out of beds to treat Covid-19 patients,” he said.
He said that tens of thousands of healthcare and frontline workers have been working hard over the past one year to protect people from Covid. It is everyone’s responsibility to keep them safe so everyone else can be taken care of.
