VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday directed officials to focus on preventing the spread of COVID-19 in Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna and Nellore districts, which have recorded a large number of cases. He also told them to conduct more tests and effectively implement containment measures.
At a review meeting on Tuesday, officials told the CM the distribution of masks has gathered pace, and is first being done in red and orange zones. Work is on to hand out 16 crore masks (three to each person in AP) manufactured by women self-help groups.
In terms of testing for coronavirus, Visakhapatnam tops the state chart, and Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts are yet to register a COVID-19 case, the officials said. TrueNat test kits are being used, they added, and pointed out that the state has 225 TrueNAT machines. As many as 5,022 tests (excluding RDT tests) were conducted on Monday.
2,000 of 32,000 identified with COVID-19 symptoms during survey tested so far
The Government General Hospital in Kurnool has been converted into a COVID-19 hospital, and all other patients there were moved to other facilities. Briefing the Chief Minister about the symptomatic survey, the officials said 2,000 of the 32,000 people identified with COVID-19 symptoms have been tested so far. As many as 7,100 people are in quarantine centres across the State, they added and pointed out that there is no shortage of PPE and N-95 masks.
Reviewing the situation in the farm sector, Jagan told the officials to prioritise the resolution of issues and the buying of agricultural produce. He said he spoke to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani about the AP fishermen stuck there, and Rupani promised to ensure the fishermen’s health and safety. Deputy Chief Minister (Health) Alla Nani, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, DGP Gautam Sawang, Special Chief Secretary (Health) KS Jawahar Reddy and others were present at the meeting.