COVID cases up in Telugu states as vaccine stocks dwindle

Naveen S Garewal 
Tribune News Service 
Hyderabad, April 11 

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There has been a fresh spurt in COVID-19 cases in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, sending the government into a tizzy.

Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajendar has said there will be no lockdown or curfew and people will have to manage to live with the virus by following the protocol norms. The government has earlier indicated that it could go in for a partial lockdown.

The vaccine stocks in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have fallen sharply, forcing officials to reduce their targets of vaccination during the “Tika Utsav” starting on Sunday.

The figures on Sunday breached the 3,000-mark in Telangana with 3,187 new infections reported. This pushed the state’s tally to over 3.27 lakh, while the death toll rose to 1,759 with seven more fatalities. This is the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases in the state so far.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy cancelled the Tirupati by-poll campaign scheduled for April 14. In an open letter the chief minister has written to the people of the saying: “As you all must be aware, I was hoping to reach out to each of you personally on the 14th of April, by means of a public meeting that was scheduled. However, I’m having to write this letter after having a look at the latest health bulletin. The health of every single citizen matter to me”.

On Sunday, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), accounted for the greatest number of cases with 551, followed by Medchal-Malkajgiri at 333 and Rangareddy at 271, the state government said in a bulletin, providing details as of 8 pm on April 10. The last time we recorded a high number of cases was August 25th with 3,018 cases.

Sources said despite grand plans to vaccinate six lakh people per day, during the “Tika Utsav” starting on Sunday, Andhra Pradesh has had to settle for just one lakh vaccinations due to a shortage of vaccines. Due to low vaccine stocks, officials have had to postpone the campaign in some districts and organise it on a lower scale in other districts.