Telangana Is Inching Towards Becoming A COVID-Free State By May 8: KT Rama Rao

New Delhi: Amid the coronavirus crisis, the Telangana government has decided to go a step ahead and extend the lockdown till May 7 instead of May 3 when the nation-wide lockdown ends in India. Moreover, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has also recently said that the state will be coronavirus-free by May 8 if the coronavirus trends in the state continue. NDTV speaks with working President of TRS, KT Rama Rao to know more about the state’s effort in slowing the spread of coronavirus. He said,

Telangana has seen a downward trend from April 22 when it comes to coronavirus cases and we believe that we have been able to flatten the curve. Also, the state has extended the lockdown till May 7, therefore, we believe that by May 7 or 8, we will be able to have zero cases of coronavirus and those undergoing treatment, will hopefully be discharged.

Also Read: India Fighting Coronavirus Outbreak: 5 Out Of 8 States In Northeast Declared Coronavirus-Free

Talking about the steps the state has taken to see this downward trend, KT Rama Rao added,

Containment, quarantining, tracing and tracking, along with isolation practices have been very effective in the state in slowing the spread of the virus. The biggest effort that has been put in the state is on containing the virus and containment spots so that it doesn’t spread. All these efforts that have been put in last one and half month has narrowed down the cases to almost 2 per day from 6 cases a day.

Also Read: New Guidelines By Health Ministry: COVID-19 Patients With Very Mild Symptoms Can Stay At Home, All You Need To Know

Highlighting the testing strategy that has been adopted by Telangana, KT Rama Rao said that the state did not go ahead for indiscriminate testing, instead, it largely remained focussed on symptomatic cases. He added,

The state focussed on ensuring that all the people who had a history or exhibited coronavirus symptoms will be tested. Taking an additional step, we also tested patients primary contacts. Apart from this, Telangana did testing in clusters, red zones and hotspots. The testing in the state was done adequately and optimally.

Also Read: Meet India’s Coronavirus Warriors Who Are Fighting In Their Unique Way To Flatten The COVID-19 Curve And Save The Country From The Crisis

In Telangana, as of April 30, as per Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 1,012 COVID-19 infected people, of which, 367 people have been recovered and 26 have been scummed to the highly contagious infection. As per, Telangana government data, there are 13 districts and 209 clusters which are in the containment zones for the coronavirus crisis. A strict lockdown has been enforced in such areas. As of April 17, 1,09,975 households and 4,39,900 population have been surveyed for the coronavirus and around 19,000 people have been tested for COVID-19.

Also Read: Month Of May Could Be ‘Make Or Break’ For COVID-19 Fight, Say Medical Experts