Hyderabad: Health Minister Harish Rao, in a review meeting held here on Sunday, said that two new variants of COVID-19, Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, are a growing concern in the state.
The two-new variants which were declared a matter of concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), are steadily increasing, Harish Rao said.
In the latest genome sequencing data by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), cases of the BA.5 variant in Telangana have risen to five, while those of BA.4 have gone up to two.
The minister has appealed to people to take necessary precautions, especially in crowded areas. “There are clear signs that the cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in certain states. We must learn from our past experience and follow COVID appropriate behaviour,” said Rao.
“People must wear masks in closed public spaces, such as trains, buses, cinema theatres, auditoriums, malls, multiplexes, offices, hospitals, colleges and schools. All eligible persons should take the booster dose,” added Rao.
Telangana has witnessed a small rise in COVID-19 cases in the past week from 40 cases, to over 70 new cases that have been reported. Over 11000 people are being tested daily for the COVID-19 virus on a daily basis.
On Sunday, authorities reported 63 COVID-19 cases in Telangana, out of which 47 were from the GHMC limits. The total positivity ratio has increased from 0.4 percent to 0.7 percent in the state.
