As Covid-19 positive cases continue to rise, the Telangana government has decided to extend the night curfew by one more week up to 5 am on May 8.

As many as 53 patients have died to the Covid-19 infection and 7,646 new positive cases were reported in the State on Thursday.

Tocilizumab supplies

Meanwhile, the State government has set up a three-member committee to channelise the allocation of Tocilizumab to needy patients.

The committee comprises the Directors of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Department of Public Health and Medication Education.

They will vet the applications made by hospitals for the use of the drug for Covid-19 patients and will allot the drug doses.

“The patient-wise request from hospitals should have a detailed recommendation from a team of three specialists from the hospital after assessing the patient’s condition,” the Government Order said.

It should be recommended for patients with no active bacterial, fungal or tubercular infection; whose condition is not improving despite use of steroids; for patients with significantly raised inflammatory markers; and for patients with presence of severe disease.

Acute shortage of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab stocks in the State has led to the regulation.

As of Thursday night, the State has 77,727 Covid active cases, with reports of over 4,000 cases are awaited from various diagnostic centres.

The number of samples tested continued to be low as it tested 77,000 samples on Thursday as against one lakh a day a few days ago.

There has been a dip in the number of tests being done in the State. As against the daily testing of over one lakh samples, the State tested 72,000 samples, with a large number of patients with symptoms returning home from the testing labs for want of test kits.

The State government has announced that only people with symptoms will be tested, owing to the shortage in availability of kits.

Vaccine drive

The State could administer only 72,000 doses on Thursday, taking the number of total doses administered in the State so far to 46 lakhs. Only 5.96 people have received both the doses.