The COVID-19 situation in Telangana does not warrant imposition of night curfew in the state, the state government informed the High Court on Tuesday, January 25. The Director of Public Health Dr G Srinivasa Rao said that the COVID-19 spread in the state is not upto the level that requires restrictions like night curfew. The court was hearing petitions relating to COVID-19 situation in the state.
In a report submitted to the High Court, the DPH said that the COVID-19 positivity rate in the state is only 3.16%, and that as per the guidelines issued by the Union government, night curfew should be imposed when the positivity rate exceeds 10%.
He also informed the court that the positivity rate has not exceeded 10% in any of the 33 districts. “The highest positivity rate is in Medak district - 6.45%, while in Greater Hyderabad, which has been recording a bulk of the daily cases, the positivity rate stands at 4.26%”, he said.
The court was informed that orders prohibiting public gatherings are in force in the state till January 31. It was also told that for the last one week, the state health authorities have been conducting more than a lakh tests every day. Srinivasa Rao said that a fever survey was carried out across the state and in the first three days, 1.78 lakh home isolation kits were distributed to people with COVID-19 symptoms.
He also informed the court that 59% of the beneficiaries in the 15-18 age group have been vaccinated. So far, 2.16 lakh beneficiaries have taken the booster dose, he said.
However, the counsel of the petitioners submitted to the court that identification of 1.70 lakh people with COVID-19 symptoms during the fever survey indicates the severity of COVID-19 situation in the state.
The court noted that COVID-19 safety precautions like wearing of masks and maintaining physical distance were not being followed, and directed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and police to strictly implement these rules. The court also asked the Director of Public Health to be present during the next hearing on January 28.
Meanwhile, the daily COVID-19 count in the state mounted to 4,559 on Tuesday, January 25. Authorities conducted 1,13,670 tests during the 24-hour period ending at 5.30 pm on Tuesday. GHMC reported highest number of cases at 1,450 followed by Medchal Malkajgiri (432), Rangareddy (322), Hanamkonda (201), Khammam (145), Nalgonda (138), and Karimnagar (112). The state also reported two deaths during the period. The active cases in the state has increased to 36,269.