No energetic COVID-19 case in Telangana, we’re in a snug zone: Director of Public Well being

Telangana’s Director of Public Well being and Household Welfare, Dr. B. Ravinder Naik in an interview with The Hindu spoke about how the an infection is panning out now, preparedness to attend the instances.
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With experiences of rising COVID-19 instances in components of Asia, considerations have emerged over whether or not India, and Telangana particularly needs to be apprehensive. In an interview with The Hindu, Telangana’s Director of Public Well being and Household Welfare, Dr. B. Ravinder Naik, explains why there isn’t a speedy trigger for alarm and particulars the State’s ongoing surveillance and preparedness measures.

At current, there isn’t a trigger for alarm. Based on the nationwide COVID portal, round 257 instances are energetic in India, however these are scattered and principally restricted to a couple States. Importantly, as of now, there are not any energetic COVID-19 instances reported from Telangana on the portal. So, we’re in a snug zone.

We’ve got a pre-planned seasonal well being preparedness technique in place. Proper now, we’re targeted on managing heat-related sicknesses in summer season. When the wet season begins, our consideration shifts to ailments like Dengue, Malaria, H1N1, respiratory infections, Acute Gastroenteritis, and COVID-19 as nicely. Over time, particularly by way of 2020, 2021, and 2022, we’ve got discovered rather a lot from our COVID-19 response. The World Well being Organisation (WHO) has already declared that COVID-19 is not a worldwide public well being emergency. It has transitioned to an endemic stage, that means it exists within the atmosphere and should trigger gentle, flu-like signs equivalent to chilly, cough, fever, throat ache, and physique aches.

Normally, signs are gentle and even asymptomatic. Easy house care like steam inhalation, elevated fluid consumption, and relaxation often assist restoration inside per week. Nevertheless, high-risk teams, such because the aged, pregnant girls, kids, and people with compromised immunity (like Most cancers or HIV sufferers) needs to be extra cautious and search medical recommendation if wanted.

Sure, we’ve got a devoted particular officer stationed on the airport, alongside together with her crew, to observe incoming passengers from different international locations. They’re conducting common surveillance and screening as a part of our ongoing public well being preparedness. This helps us keep vigilant and shortly establish any potential instances on the level of entry.

Completely. Primarily based on the expertise of the previous few years, Telangana has strengthened its total healthcare infrastructure. From sub-centres to district hospitals, we’ve got ensured availability of beds, oxygen provide, testing and tracing programs, referral companies, and observe isolation protocols. All the things, from human assets to logistics, is in place to sort out any eventuality.

Proper now, there isn’t a recent advisory from the Ministry of Well being and Household Welfare or the Indian Council of Medical Analysis (ICMR). Every time the Authorities of India receives new updates from WHO, they situation advisories accordingly. As soon as we get these pointers, we act on them instantly. In the meantime, seasonal illness advisories, which additionally embrace COVID-19, had been already issued yearly. So, we’ve got year-round exercise and surveillance in place. There may be completely no want for public to panic.

When the pandemic started, we began with the infrastructure we had at the moment. However through the years, we scaled up quickly. We procured extra beds, oxygen cylinders, employees, testing kits, all the pieces wanted to reply to COVID-19. From affected person examination to testing, contact tracing, isolation, and remedy, we constructed a system that’s now absolutely operational. We additionally conduct mock drills recurrently to make sure readiness. On occasion, we assess, re-train employees, and replace tools or protocols wherever obligatory. Our preparedness now could be complete. Ought to any scenario come up once more, we’re prepared to reply swiftly and successfully.