COVID-19 cases continued to rise sharply in Telangana on Friday, with 1,640 new cases and eight deaths being reported, taking the tally of positive cases in the state to 52,466 and deaths to 455.
Out of the fresh cases, 683 were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by Ranga Reddy and Sangareddy districts with 135 and 102 cases respectively.
A state government bulletin said 40,334 (76.8%) people have recovered so far, while 11,677 (22.1%) were under treatment.
The bulletin said 15,445 samples were tested on Friday. Cumulatively, 3,37,771 samples have been tested. It said the tests per million population was 8,444 while the cumulative sample positivity rate was 15.5%.
With the state government ramping up testing, the cumulative sample positivity rate has been on the decline since the last several days.
The bulletin said the government has made elaborate arrangements for treating COVID-19 patients and that sufficient beds are available in government hospitals.
It said people can contact 9154170960 on WhatsApp for any grievances pertaining to private hospitals /laboratories.
Meanwhile, an official release said Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba held a video conference with nine states and took stock of the prevailing COVID-19 situation.
He reiterated the need for increased testing, systematic enforcement of containment measures, clinical management and increased communication through awareness campaigns, it said.
Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar said the state government has made significant improvement in testing, tracing, isolation and quarantine measures and also in enhancing human resources and ramping up infrastructure, the release added.
The state has a total of 17,801 beds earmarked for treating COVID-19 patients in 61 government hospitals across the state. Of them, 1,616 are oxygen beds while 471 are ventilator beds.
As on Thursday, Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad which is the state’s Centre of Excellence for COVID-19 care, has 1,226 beds vacant out of a total 1,896 beds.
The state has 16 government testing centres for COVID-19 across the state and 23 private labs. In GHMC limits alone, there are nine designated government hospitals for COVID-19 while Yadadri has four and Sangareddy has five hospitals.
The government states that they are providing a home isolation kit for those who are undergoing home quarantine. The kit includes some essential medicines, tablets, gloves, sanitisers, soaps, masks.
In its official communication, the government has said that patients with moderate to severe symptoms of COVID-19 should go to Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, where the state has made elaborate arrangements for treatment and management. Patients who are symptomatic but are yet to be confirmed for COVID-19 and require testing should go to District Hospital, King Koti, Fever Hospital and Chest Hospital.
The official bulletin stated, "Sufficient beds are available in government hospitals. Based on the clinical requirements, beds will be provided and treatment will be given free of cost in government hospitals."
(With PTI inputs)
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