Telangana recorded 61 new COVID-19 cases on Monday taking the total to 592 in the state. Further, districts like Vikarabad and Suryapet which had a low number of cases until now, witnessed a sudden spike.
Just four days ago Vikarabad had 5 cases while Suryapet had 10. Presently Vikarabad has 24 cases while Suryapet has 23 cases including three new cases on Tuesday.
Hyderabad has a total of 216 COVID-19 cases so far; many of the cases can be traced back to the Tablighi Jamaat meeting in Delhi. Among the 1,100 people from Telangana who had attended the meeting, more than 600 are from Hyderabad. Ten persons from Suryaoet and 13 from Vikarabad attended the event.
All the persons were identified using intelligence inputs within a couple of days and samples were collected from them and their relatives. And slowly many are testing positive for the disease.
To tackle the crisis, 248 areas in the state have been declared as ‘containment zones’ to prevent further spread of the disease. Among this Hyderabad alone has 126 containment zones.
Similarly, in Suryapet district, six places with positive cases have been identified as containment zones, while Vikarabad has sealed-off seven areas as a precautionary measure. As per the containment measures, vehicles will be restricted in these areas, and all the residents within the 5 km perimeter would be checked for the disease.
Speaking to TNM, Vikarabad District Medical and Health Officer Dr Dasarath said that all the positive cases in the district were due to the Delhi meeting. “The reason for the spike is because the contacts of the event attendees are now testing positive.”
In Vikarabad district there are seven containment zones: Two in Vikarabad, two in Parigi, two in Tandur and one in Marpally. The DMHO has informed that they have collected more than 200 samples from these areas. The test results of some of these patients are yet to come.
In Suryapet, the District Surveillance Officer, Dr Dileep said that they have registered three new cases on Tuesday.
According to the information available, the officials have surveyed 6,41,194 households and the state has tested more than 8,500 persons.