HYDERABAD: The State Cabinet, which met here on Wednesday, decided to intensify its battle against COVID-19 by scaling up tests to 40,000 per day. It also decided to release Rs 100 crore in addition to an equal amount already released to help speed up the pandemic fight.
The Cabinet decided to bear the expenditure incurred by doctors and other staff in private medical colleges on food and medicines as they were providing free medical care to COVID-19 patients. The Cabinet also took a serious view of the private hospitals trying to squeeze money from patients in the name of specialised COVID treatment.
It was also decided that across the State at least 10,000 more oxygen beds should be made available. If any government hospital is running short of staff, they have been asked to appoint them on a temporary basis. As many as 10 lakh home isolation kits would kept ready so that there would be no dearth in supplying them immediately after one tests positive.
In all government hospitals, anti-viral drugs such as Remdesivir, low-molecular weight heparin, dexamethazone injections and Favipiravir would be made available. Test kits would be provided in lakhs. The Cabinet felt that in Telangana, the incidence of COVID-19 was much less compared to other States and that the curve is slowly flattening. But at the same time, there was no room for laxity.
The Cabinet decided to spend money liberally on measures to contain the virus, no matter how much it would cost. The officials informed the Cabinet that in major cities across the world, COVID-19 was on its way out.