BENGALURU: The state is using three Ts —tracing, testing and treating —to deal with the coronavirus challenge before the state, said Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar, on the floor of the assembly on Monday.
He said, “It is a health emergency which has not been seen before. The state has seven testing centres which is higher than bigger states like Maharashtra, which has only 2-3 such centres. Each centre can carry out 80-100 tests per day.”
He conceded that there was a delay in testing, as pointed out by Congress leader Priyank Kharge, because these centres were dependent on reagents which are imported from Germany. “But Germany itself is reeling under a crisis,” he said.He agreed with the suggestion made by Kunigal MLA Dr Ranganath that the elderly, who are at higher risk, should be segregated first.
Sudhakar said that IISc and Biocon have come forward to help the government with testing facilities. IISc especially has come up with an offer for affordable testing.
“Ministers and Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa are working from 5 am till 12 midnight managing the crisis. We held a high-level meeting with Narayana Hrudayala’s Dr Devi Shetty, Manipal Hospital’s Dr Sudarshan Ballal and doctors from Fortis Hospital on dealing with coronavirus,” he said.
“If the numbers rise, patients can be accommodated in makeshift places, even hotels. I have spoken to entrepreneurs like Anand Mahindra requesting their resorts and hotels to house coronavirus patients,” he said.
Opposition leader Siddararamaiah said that all the 43,000 travellers who have come to the state from abroad have to be identified and quarantines, considering that 23,000 are missing. Sudhakar replied that their details will be obtained and they will be quarantined.
“We need to fight this crisis cohesively and unitedly, both socially and politically. Considering that there is no vaccine and no clinically tested pharmaceutical available, we have only one solution that is social distancing,” he said.