Follow Covid protocol to curb Maha effect: Govt

District collectors alerted to increase testing and tracing

The Telangana health department has urged people to be careful and adhere to every Covid-19 protocol in view of the rising number of cases in Maharashtra and some other states.

It was just on Sunday that the Union Government exhorted five states where Covid-19 cases are increasing – Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, MP and Goa – to increase tests and use the proven Rt-PCR tests rather than the unreliable Rapid Antigen tests, as new variants of Covid-19 virus have begun spreading among their populations.

The Centre wanted the five states to regularly monitor mutant strains through testing followed by genome sequencing, as well as monitoring of the emerging cluster of cases.

“We have alerted all district collectors to increase testing, tracing and containment measures,” Telangana Director of Public Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao told media persons here on Monday. With threat looming large because of the spread of new variants, there is a likelihood of a rise in cases in the state, he cautioned while urging people to strictly follow safety measures.

However, no steps have been initiated for checks on people coming into Telangana either by road or by trains from Maharashtra or the other states that were on Sunday put on high alert.

From Maharashtra alone, thousands of people arrive every day in staterun and privately-operated buses, private vehicles, and in trains.

South Central Railway (SCR) officials estimate that on a daily average, 300 to 350 people arrive from Nagpur by trains. Another 1,100, on an average, come from Mumbai. While there are no exit health checks like temperature or symptom exams for disembarking passengers, SCR officials said every passenger is checked on these parameters before boarding a train.

With respect to buses, state-run services, whether by Telangana or Maharashtra, bring in a few thousand people in addition to those who arrive by private buses. There is no certainty as to how many of these people are checked for their health parameters before boarding the buses, an official said.

Dr Srinivasa Rao pointed out that Telangana was keeping an eye on cluster outbreaks and rise in cases in all the districts and was pressing into service increased testing measures and surveillance to keep Covid-19 cases under control.