Everyone should get tested regularly for Covid: Telangana health officials

HYDERABAD: Everyone, irrespective of their current health status, with or without any symptoms that might be related to Covid-19, must get themselves tested for the Coronavirus at regular intervals, preferably once a week or 10 days, Telangana state health department has advised.

“Of all the persons who have tested positive in Telangana state so far, 70 per cent have been asymptomatic. Such individuals, or people around them, have no awareness that they are spreading the disease. Every individual must save himself or herself. So, safety must be a continuous priority. Wear a mask properly when not at home. Maintain physical distance and do not give up on hand hygiene. And, follow all other safety protocols to keep Covid-19 away from yourself,” said Dr G. Srinivasa Rao, Director of Health Services, on Monday.

Dr Rao told Deccan Chronicle: “There is a general feeling among people that things have changed and they can let their guard down against Coronavirus. With fewer cases each day, people might be lulled into complacency that it is safer now. That is the nature of the virus. It will be silent for some time. Once people withdraw their guard, it will strike again.” “There is no safe place,” Dr Srinivasa Rao remarked.

He said that each person must always be attentive to his or her surroundings. It is hard to determine how one catches the disease despite contact tracing efforts that work best in a known setting, such as disease transmission in a family or a group of people.
As per official data released on Monday, of the total 2,31,834 Covid-19 cases in Telangana state so far, 1,62,284 have been found without any symptoms. Only 69,550 Coronavirus patients exhibited symptoms of the disease, making it a challenging task for anyone trying to stay safe and keep the disease at bay.
So far, as many as 40,94,417 Covid-19 tests have been conducted in the state so far. Even if one assumes that every test was on a unique individual, then these numbers cover just about 11 per cent of the state’s population, as per Administrative Staff College of India’s analysis on Monday of daily Coronavirus data released by the state government.

It may be recalled that the health department has already called on commercial establishments and other organisations that employ people to have their staff tested once a week. Advisories have been sent to all concerned on this front by the department. “This ensures safety of employees and workers, apart from the establishment; more importantly their customers. All establishments should also hang a sign at their entrance declaring that their staff are tested regularly for Covid-19,” Dr Srinivasa Rao said.

While there are several private diagnostic labs providing Covid-19 testing at the government-designated price, government itself provides free testing. “People should use the government-provided facility, and keep themselves, their families and loved ones safe. Regular testing will help them do so,” the Director of Health Services added.

Full list of Covid-19 testing centres in Hyderabad and rest of Telangana can be found at:

https://covid19.telangana.gov.in/health-facilities/testing-centres/
16 government RT-PCR/CBNAAT/TRUENAT testing centres
23 private RT-PCR/CBNAAT/TRUENAT testing centres
More than 1,000 Rapid Antigen Test centres
Dial 104 for information about location of test centres, or advise on care, any question on Covid-19.