Covid second wave ended in Telangana: G Srinivasa Rao

The second wave of Covid-19, which peaked in the months of March-April and remained active after the lockdown restrictions were lifted, has ended and is under complete control across Telangana, Director of Public Health (DPH) Dr G Srinivasa Rao on Wednesday said.

In the last few weeks, the reproductive number or the R value is down to 0.7 and there is a considerable dip in positivity rate and hospital bed occupancy ratio in the State.

“Going by the trends, we can safely say that Covid second wave has ended and it is under complete control. There is a consistent drop in daily positive infections, R value and bed occupancy ratio. Positive cases in eight to nine districts in Telangana, where the Delta variant was active, have also dropped,” Dr Rao said.

The R value, which is an indication of how fast the Covid infections



are spreading, in Telangana is less than one. “For a long time, the R value was over one, which was a concern. However, now it is about 0.7, which is good news,” he said.

The DPH credited the general public for the steady dip in Covid infections. “The credit must go to people. In the last month, there were several festivals including Bakrid and Bonalu, apart from marriages and private functions. Despite such public events, people ensured they followed Covid appropriate behaviour, which played an important role in the reduction of Covid infections,” he said.

At present, the average daily number of Covid infections in Telangana is hovering between 400 and 430 while there are close to 7,000 active Covid cases. There are close to 55,000 dedicated Covid beds of which 3,200 are occupied.