The State government is turning its focus on precautionary measures that need to be continued to avoid a second wave of COVID-19 in Telangana. Urging people not to assume that the coronavirus threat no longer exists, Health department officials have cautioned that any negligence in observing precautions will lead to a surge in cases.
Testing rise and fall
At this point, it cannot be said that fewer positive cases are being recorded in Telangana. The number of cases detected in a day is directly related to the number of tests performed. The highest of 2,500 to 3,000 cases per day were detected towards August-end to September second week when 55,000 to 60,000 people were being examined for coronavirus every day.
Gradually, the number of samples tested has come down. From the past week, around 40,000 samples were tested in a day, leading to detection of 1,200 to 1,500 cases. Testing dropped to nearly 15,000 and 21,000 on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Sunday being a holiday, and festival season, was cited as reason for the drop.
When the tests increased, the number of cases also rose which proved the assumption that fewer cases are being detected as being wrong.
The second wave of COVID-19 cases in European nations is weighing heavily on State government officials. On Tuesday, officials of Health department, Panchayat Raj department, Women and Child Welfare department held a meeting on the pandemic measures.
The officials said that the cases surged in European nations when people there dropped taking precautions. They said if people participate in large gatherings, the cases will surge again in the State.
People are urged to wear mask whenever they step out, wash hands or sanitise whenever they touch a thing or someone, maintain distance of six feet, and avoid crowd and mass gatherings.