Telangana Health Dept says 'No community transmission of COVID -19', cases at 2,499

Even as Telangana's tally of COVID-19 positive cases rose to 2,499 on Saturday, the health department has said that there was no community spread in the state.

Addressing a press conference earlier in the day, Dr. Srinivas Rao, Director of Public Health and Family Welfare, said that there was no community spread in the state and added that the first case was registered in Telangana on March 2.

"We have been working to eradicate COVID-19 for the last 90 days. There were more positive cases from the people who came from abroad and who had attended the event in Delhi's Nizamuddin. We tried to overcome them but the cases have risen for the past 15 days in some areas after the lockdown relaxation," Dr. Rao said. "There is no community transmission. Earlier, 82 people were reported positive because of one person in Suryapet," he added.

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‘Long-term effect on respiratory systems’

Dr. Rao also said that people who have tested positive for coronavirus might also experience long term effects on their respiratory systems.

"The Medical Department is conducting surveillance. There might be a long-term effect on the respiratory system for the people who are reported positive. We conducted approximately 30,000 tests in Telangana," he said.

Meanwhile, Ramesh Reddy, Director of Medical Education, said there might be a rise in COVID-19 positive cases. However, he assured that people need not worry as very few virus patients are on ventilators in the state.

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74 fresh cases in Telangana

Six people, including two babies, succumbed to COVID-19 in Telangana pushing the death toll to 77, while 74 fresh cases were reported on Saturday, taking the tally of infections in the state to 2,499.

The two babies who died include a three-month-old male baby with associated cardiac disease and a 24-day-old preterm male baby, according to a bulletin issued by the state government.

The 74 fresh cases include 60 local cases and 14 others among migrants, deportees, and foreign returnees. With 14 fresh cases, the number of cases among migrants, deportees, and foreign returnees stood at 431. The total local cases as on Saturday (5 pm) was 2068. The bulletin said 1,412 people have been discharged so far and the number of people under treatment in hospitals was 1,010.

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(With inputs from ANI)