Mask up Telangana
Hyderabad: In the wake of a spike in the Covid cases and 26 deaths so far in the country, health experts in the city have cautioned common people to wear masks for at least four weeks.
Dr Madap Karuna, consultant at EMRI Green Health Services, who deals with preventive healthcare, stressed on masking up. She said that there were many unreported Covid cases in Telangana as a few of the fellow doctors were mentioning. Karuna said that people need to wear masks for at least four weeks in crowded places, hospitals and diagnostic centres. 'If you have fever, cough, cold, please wear a mask to protect your family, colleagues and near and dear,' said Dr Karuna.
According to the dashboard of the Union Health Ministry, there were close to 4,000 positive cases in the country. The total positivity rate was 0.2 per 1 lakh population and the total fatality rate was at 0.8 per 100 cases. The Kerala state alone accounts for 42.3 per cent of total active cases. Maharashtra follows with 15.6 per cent, Delhi (294 cases) and Gujarat (223) together making up 19 per cent of the total burden.
The South Indian states (Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana) together account for over 58 per cent of all cases. Maharashtra reported the highest number of deaths (7), accounting for nearly 32 per cent of the total deaths followed by Kerala with 5 deaths (23 per cent), Delhi and Karnataka each reported 2 deaths, jointly contributing 18 per cent.
Dr Karuna further said that the government alone can't control, and the public should oblige with precautions. 'These illnesses can be controlled if we become alert when we see fumes, not when we see fire. Most important antibiotic abuse for these viral infections can be stopped by knowing the case pattern in our surroundings," she explained.
Concurring with her views, Dr Kiran Madhala from the Telangana State chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said that following precautions was always a better option. He said that after May 2025, a total of 72 Covid-19 genome sequences were recorded in the country. Among these, the JF.7.9 variant accounted for the highest proportion, comprising 25 sequences or approximately 34.72 per cent. The XFG variant followed closely with 24 sequences (33.33 per cent), and the XFJ variant was found in 15 sequences (20.83 per cent). The JN.1 variant appeared in two sequences (2.78 per cent), while the remaining six sequences (8.33 per cent) were classified as others.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
30 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘I'll spend 8 years in Washington': Andrew Cuomo outlines national fight against Trump
Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor and current frontrunner in the city's mayoral race, has said he will take on US President Donald Trump nationally if elected. In an interview with Politico, Cuomo said he would use his role as mayor to help Democrats win back the House of Representatives, especially by opposing Trump's proposed Medicaid cuts. 'If I become mayor, I would spend eight years in Washington go to that US Conference of Mayors, go to the National Governors Association,' Cuomo told Politico. 'You're going to have to be a spokesperson, advocate, organiser. This is what Medicaid means in Mississippi, this is what Medicaid means in Texas.' Cuomo believes that Trump's plan to cut Medicaid could hurt Republicans in swing districts. 'Medicaid is not a blue-city, blue-state situation. That is in every state. That is a lot of red Congressional districts. And he could lose the House on cutting Medicaid if you organised it and got it moving,' he said. Despite not yet winning the election, Cuomo is already talking about how he would deal with a Republican administration. He is reportedly under investigation by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) for his handling of nursing home deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic. The probe is based on claims that he gave false testimony to Congress about his administration's report on the issue. Cuomo called the investigation 'purely political nonsense' and said he has not been contacted by the Justice Department or received a subpoena. 'My thing is, I don't recall. There's no incorrect statement in 'I don't recall',' he said in the Politico interview. He added that any Democratic mayor who opposes Trump could be targeted. 'Assume any person who becomes mayor will be investigated. Just assume that. If they oppose Trump, he will investigate them for leverage,' Cuomo said. Trump commented on the investigation, saying, 'I've known Andrew. We've had an on-off relationship. He was saying the greatest things about me … and then the next day he'd hit us. But I hope it's going to be okay, I hope it's not going to be serious for him. We'll see what happens.' Cuomo also responded to criticism that Trump supporters have donated to a super PAC backing his campaign. 'I don't even know if they're Trump donors,' he told Politico. 'Bill Ackman donated to me before there was a Trump. These people I know before Trump. They're not Trump donors, they're Cuomo donors who maybe supported Trump.' Though Cuomo says he is only focused on the mayoral race, his comments suggest he sees a chance to re-enter national politics. 'What is Medicaid going to mean in Lawler's district?' he said, referring to a New York Republican. 'But what is it going to mean nationally, is the way you really make a difference.' Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after a state report said he sexually harassed multiple women. He denied the findings but stepped down. Winning the mayor's office could return him to the national stage.
Indian Express
30 minutes ago
- Indian Express
11 new COVID cases across Gurgaon, Faridabad; 29 active cases in both districts
Six new coronavirus cases were detected in Haryana's Gurgaon district Tuesday, with five recoveries and the number of active cases at 17. On Tuesday, 163 samples were tested in the district, and the cumulative number of cases detected this year is now 34. Five of the positive cases detected on Tuesday have no recent travel history and involve a 31-year-old male resident of Sector 42, a 29-year-old male resident of Sector 56, a 32-year-old female resident of Sector 49, a 32-year-old male resident of Sector 67, and a 35-year-old male resident of Sector 37C. A 50-year-old male resident of Hayatpur, who tested positive, had recently travelled to Haridwar. In Faridabad, 130 samples were tested, and five COVID-positive cases were detected. Three patients recovered from the disease, and the active and cumulative number of cases in the district stood at 12 and 26, respectively. There have been no deaths yet in Haryana, and all patients in Gurgaon are under home isolation. The health department had earlier stated that the situation was under control and that there was no cause for worry with the rise in mild symptomatic COVID-19 cases. 'All the pandemic-era precautionary measures and advisories, including mask-wearing, have been reissued and reiterated to hospitals. For now, we have made available 500 beds across isolation wards in government hospitals and other sites for any rise in serious cases. We will increase the number if and when the need arises. We have told hospitals to carry out tests for those showing symptoms. There is no reason to panic, the situation is well under control,' Dr Alka Singh, Chief Medical Officer, Gurgaon, told The Indian Express last month. 'There is no need to panic. It is an endemic (disease) now. Many people with symptoms are likely to test positive,' Dr Singh added. Following a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, India too has seen fresh cases, with a majority of them being reported from Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. However, most of the cases are mild and not associated with severity or mortality. Around the time the second wave of COVID-19 peaked in India, the Haryana government launched a door-to-door screening programme in rural areas across the state on May 15, 2021. Till June 3 of that year, over 1.66 crore people were screened, which was roughly around 60 per cent of the state's 2.91 crore population. In May of that year, the transmission rate of the disease had been found to be rapidly increasing in rural areas. A survey conducted by the state's health department on COVID-19 patients admitted in various hospitals revealed that 68 per cent were from urban areas, while 32 per cent of the patients were from rural areas. During the second wave, Haryana had imposed a one-week lockdown on May 3, which was extended multiple times. However, as fresh cases continued to dip, the state government gradually relaxed various curbs.
The Hindu
32 minutes ago
- The Hindu
COVID surge calls for precautions, not for alarm
Even though the uptick in COVID-19 cases may not be a cause for alarm, masking in public places, especially hospitals or closed spaces, should become a norm now for the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic comorbidities, Health department officials have reiterated. 'We just want people to be aware that COVID is still around, alongside other respiratory viruses, and that they should take regular precautions such as masking in public places to prevent themselves from contracting the virus. Those with respiratory symptoms should strictly maintain cough etiquette and hand hygiene and stay indoors till their symptoms subside to prevent further transmission,' a senior clinician said. As of Monday, Kerala has 1,416 active cases of COVID-19. One new death , that of an 80-year-old, who had been undergoing treatment for pneumonia with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease, was also reported. The State maintains that it wants no part in the COVID frenzy that seems to be slowly taking over the rest of the country. It is dealing with COVID just as it would manage influenza, with the focus on standard precautions as well as transmission prevention. To augment testing It has been decided to augment testing and efforts are on to get all public RT PCR testing labs active. Influenza A is also very much in circulation now, which means that testing those with respiratory symptoms would help in identifying influenza cases, who can be initiated on antivirals early. 'We are not worried about the rising case numbers and are only looking at the hospital admissions and case severity, which seems to be fine now. However, the fact that we have a sizeable proportion of elderly in the community, as well as a chunk of adults with uncontrolled chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, are risks we cannot discount,' a senior official said. The Omicron variant JN.1 and its sublineage LF.1 currently in circulation in the State causes only mild illness lasting over two to three days. However, emergency rooms and OP clinics are beginning to be crowded with people having fever and respiratory symptoms. Fever, fatigue and lethargy seem to be the main symptoms; sometimes accompanied by sore throat which could become a dry cough. In some cases, doctors have reported secondary bacterial infections requiring antibiotics also. Circular In a circular issued by the Health department on Monday, officials directed all public and private hospitals to be watchful for the red flag signs --breathlessness, chest pain, fall in blood pressure, cyanosis, etc. -- in all persons coming to outpatient clinics with respiratory symptoms. It has also been directed that all hospitals admit COVID/influenza patients in separate wards, test family members with symptoms and to institute crowd control measures in hospitals. Hospitals have also been asked to review their preparedness measures, including oxygen availability, medicines, oxygen-supported beds, ICU beds, etc., and to conduct mock drills As influenza is also doing the rounds, for the elderly, the annual influenza vaccine is a good idea to prevent chest infections, which could worsen to pneumonia. Those who are known to have diabetes and hypertension should ensure that their blood sugar and blood pressure levels are well regulated. Public health experts point out that except for a small minority, almost everyone in the State has either been vaccinated against the older SARS CoV 2 virus variants or may have been exposed to the virus in the past, especially when the Omicron wave first swept across the State in 2022. Thus, almost everyone in the State has either vaccine-derived immunity or hybrid immunity (through the infection as well as vaccination) against the earlier variants. However, this immunity might have waned or might not be effective against Omicron and its variants because of the latter's immune evasiveness. Even so, previous vaccination is expected to protect people from severe illness. 'Our situation now is very different from 2020, when COVID first appeared. The State does not recommend that anyone vaccinate against COVID anew,' a senior official said.
