After being
repeatedly hauled up by the Telangana High Court for its "half-hearted" approach towards implementing steps to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the state, the TRS government can be seen scaling up its efforts to curb the spread now.
Public Health Director Dr Srinivas Rao today said that the number of daily Covid-19 tests was currently being increased across the state, and that 15 districts would soon perform mass RTPCR tests. He added that about 1,100 centres were inoculating people against the deadly disease.
"The Government has taken the steps necessary to increase daily testing to 1 lakh a day. Government-run vaccination centres are also administering a record number of vaccines daily. Further, out of a total of 10,000 beds in government hospitals, 80% are unoccupied so that they can be used to treat critical Covid-19 patients. However, to truly be able to arrest the
current spike in Covid-19 cases, the relevant safety protocols must be followed by each and every person in Telangana," Rao said.
"As the second wave has already begun, the government is taking every required preventive measure. Testing, tracing, and treatment are our priorities now. Rapid test teams have been employed to monitor the spread of the disease. But again I will point out that we need the cooperation of the public. Please abstain from attending any large meetings, social gatherings, and other public events. We need 100% compliance with the safety measures to successfully battle the pandemic," he added.
Telangana DGP M Mahender Reddy also addressed a virtual meeting of Commissioners of Police and SPs where he instructed them to take steps to contain Covid-19.
"We must ensure that all the people in the state follow the stipulated safety norms to stop the spread of the disease. We must also work to spread awareness about the second wave that has gripped the state. Repeat offenders (violating safety norms) must be prosecuted severely. Further, we must ensure that the owners of commercial establishments do not allow people without masks to enter their shops," he said.
The DGP then asked the officials to rope in civil society organisations to help in the implementation of the safety guidelines and in disseminating information about the pandemic to the public.