Hyderabad: It is high time people followed basic Covid-19 safety guidelines including the use of masks, hand hygiene, and adhering to physical distancing as much as possible in public places. Telangana might be facing a possible fresh surge in Covid infections across all districts, senior health officials said on Sunday.

The trend in Covid infections has been increasing in Telangana. Almost all the major urban hotspots, which used to report a large number of Covid infections last year, are now witnessing a fresh spike in positive cases. Areas falling under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have been reporting a steady rise in Covid infections. At the beginning of this month, the daily Covid positive cases in areas under GHMC were below 30 infections per day. However, they are now touching almost 50 new cases in a day.

The rise in Covid infections in Telangana is not as high as in other States like Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu, which form 87 percent of the total infections being reported in India. “We don’t want to see a fresh surge in Covid infections in Telangana. The general public must ensure they are using masks and follow Covid's appropriate behaviour. The SARS-CoV-2 has not gone anywhere and it is up to the general public to follow basic precautions,” said Director of Public Health (DPH), Dr. G Srinivasa Rao.

The areas under the GHMC and other urban hotspots which had reported a large number of Covid infections last year, have also witnessed a slight surge. For the past few days, urban centres in Medchal-Malkajgiri, Rangareddy district, Karimnagar, Warangal, and Sangareddy districts are reporting a marginal rise in cases.

The health authorities have started strictly implementing testing, tracing, and treating strategies of individuals with Covid symptoms. As part of these efforts, the daily available Covid tests across all government-run healthcare facilities have been ramped up to 50,000 per day. The authorities are hoping that early and large-scale testing would help them identify fresh Covid infections quickly, which will enable doctors not only to save lives but also put positive cases under isolation, and in the process stop the chain of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.