Wearing masks mandatory: Telangana health authorities issue alert amid rising cases
Mask is mandatory and if anybody is not wearing a mask, the police will impose fines up to Rs 1000.
Hyderabad: Telangana health authorities on Thursday issued an alert in the wake of the recent rise of Covid infections in New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. It urged people to take precautions like wearing masks at crowded places and administer Covid booster doses to vulnerable individuals.
Telangana Today quoted Director of Public Health (DPH), Dr G Srinivasa Rao as saying “at this juncture, there is no clarity whether the steady rise in Covid infections in Northern States is an indication of a fourth wave. However, given the past experience of facing past three waves, this is the right time for people in Telangana to start taking precautions”.
Expecting a number of marriages, family functions and festivals, in the upcoming months in Telangana, which will definitely attract large gatherings, health authorities have advised individuals to wear masks. Saying that people can lead a normal life, G Srinivasa Rao advised to ensure that masks are in use and administer Covid vaccines to those who have missed out.
Though the daily Covid infections in Telangana have remained under 35 while the R value, which is the rate of reproduction, is 0.5, which is under safe limits for the past three months, however, it is better to start taking precautions since the Covid infections are rising in other parts of the country, Dr Rao said.
Dr G Srinivas Rao, said that going by serological surveys conducted in Telangana, the state is unlikely to witness a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, however wearing masks in outdoor settings is mandatory for the public.
He added that we can see a rise in cases within 6 weeks to 8 weeks, but it may not be the same number of cases in the third wave. Dr Rao said, mask is mandatory and if anybody is not wearing a mask, the police will impose fines up to Rs 1000.
The serological surveys concluded that people have developed more than 90% of antibodies. The highest seropositivity (presence of antibodies) was found in Hyderabad at 97%.
