Telangana Covid surge hits a new one-day peak of 872 cases

HYDERABAD: Telangana on Monday reported another spike in novel coronavirus cases with 872 new patients and seven deaths, even as authorities shut down a Malakpet hospital and medicos at Osmania General Hospital boycotted duties for the third day in a row.
While the death toll has gone up to 217, the Covid-19 caseload has jumped to 8,674 with a new single-day record over the past six days. On Monday, 713 cases out of the total count were recorded in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits and 107 cases were reported from Rangareddy district.
A 54-year-old assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of an Old City police station, who was admitted at Gandhi Hospital on Saturday with Covid-19 symptoms, succumbed while undergoing treatment on Sunday night. The cop, who was part of lockdown enforcement work, was a resident of Asif Nagar. He was on leave since June 16 to attend some personal work.
Majority of patients are asymptomatic
He was unwell from Friday and family members admitted him in Gandhi Hospital on Saturday.
“His chest X-ray showed severe lung infection. He succumbed while undergoing treatment on Sunday night,” a colleague said. So far, 12 colleagues of the ASI from his police station have tested positive for Covid-19.
Authorities said that 800 new Covid-19 positive patients were asymptomatic, while another 50 have mild to moderate symptoms and advised home quarantine. About five per cent of patients are in a serious condition, but officials said they were still evaluating the total count from all hospitals.
Treatment at the Malakpet Area Hospital almost came to a grinding halt with half their staff having tested positive. The operation theatre, outpatient and labour room has been shut for the next two days.
“The hospital caters to about 1,000 patients daily but with 9 out of 15 staff members including doctors having tested positive, it is impossible to run regular services. The operation theatre and labour room will be closed for sanitisation,” said a senior doctor at the hospital.
Also, the PG students of medicine department handling Covid-19 cases at the Osmania General Hospital (OGH) boycotted Covid-19 duties for the third day in a row. Hospital authorities had pressed 16 senior doctors and house surgeons from other departments into service to run the show.
A meeting with all department heads is scheduled on Tuesday to chalk out possibilities of deputing PG doctors and house surgeons from other departments on Covid-19 duty.
A total of 3,189 samples were tested during the day with two-thirds being done in private hospitals. The total number of samples tested so far in the state are 60,243. A total of 4,005 patients have recovered from Covid-19 till date.
Since the beginning of the relaxation of lockdown, the cases have jumped by 65% in the state. Health authorities have advised people to avoid going out unnecessarily and to take all precautions to remain safe.