TS close to recording 1K cases a day, records 920

Covid-19 cases appear to be on their way to crossing the 1,000-a-day mark, with 920 fresh cases being reported on Thursday. The total number cases so far is 11,364. The Greater Hyderabad reported 737 new cases.

Five more patients died during the day, taking the toll to 230, the daily Covid19 bulletin released by the health department said. While 327 persons were discharged, the number of active cases stood at 6,446.

The health department, which had very reluctantly approved Covid-19 testing by private accredited laboratories, hinted that these permissions may have a very short shelf life following “serious” abnormalities in the results uploaded by private labs on the designated web portal. “This may be due to technical issues in the way of testing,” it said.

A team of specialists inspected private labs to check the availability of infrastructure, trained manpower, procedure of testing and quality control. Based on the reports, an expert committee will evaluate whether the testing protocols in these labs are as per ICMR standards or not. “Accordingly, a view will be taken on further course of action,” the department said.

Meanwhile, at least nearly 180 doctors working in different government hospitals have contracted Covid-19. The highest number among doctors, post-graduate doctors as well as medical students working as interns, around 85, are from the Osmania Medical College. Following closely are doctors from Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences with 75, even as another 16 are reported to have been infected by the disease in the Kakatiya Medical College and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Warangal.

The number of mediapersons affected by Covid19 is nearing 100. Twelve journalists tested positive on Thursday, as per the Telangana State Media Academy that has been helping mediapersons who caught Covid-19 with financial assistance of

`20,000 to those admitted to hospitals and `10,000 each to those in home quarantine.

Of the cases announced on Thursday, 86 were from Ranga Reddy, 60 from Medchal-Malkajgiri, 13 from Karimangar, four from Rajanna-Siricilla, three from Mahbubnagar, and Nalgonda, two each from Mulugu, Medak and Warangal Urban, and one each from Warangal Rural, Kamareddy, Siddipet, Vikarabad, Jangaon, Mahbubabad, Adilabad, and Kumrumbheem-Asifabad districts, the bulletin said.