HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has directed the officials concerned to adopt a two-pronged strategy for containing Covid-19 and Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus. At a review here on Monday, he wanted the officials to continue the door-to-door fever survey and increase the number of Covid-19 tests. Rao also directed the officials to be prepared to face, if there is one, a third wave of Covid-19. Rao directed the officials to convert all beds as oxygen beds in the State and increase supply of oxygen production to 600 tonnes.
He also directed the State Task Force Committee on Covid-19 chairman KT Rama Rao to speak to vaccine manufacturers and ensure the supply of vaccine doses to those who were waiting for the second dose. “The door-to-door survey, which was taken up in Telangana, was giving the desired results. While continuing the same, the number of tests too should be increased. No one should be denied a test. There should not be any upper limit on the number of tests. The tests should be conducted at primary health centres itself. The number of Rapid Antigen Test kits should be increased to 50 lakh.
Conduct tests on whoever wants to undergo it,” the Chief Minister directed the officials. Rao further directed the officials to speak to the manufacturers and increase the number of kits to be supplied to hospitals and health centres. As black fungus cases are also on the rise, Rao directed the officials to immediately procure the required medicines, increase the stocks of black fungus medicines and also recruit the health staff for treating the patients
Black fungus beds in TS to be increased to 1,500
Officials informed the CM that they had allocated 150 beds in Gandhi Hospital and 250 beds in ENT hospital - a total of 400 beds for treating black fungus cases. Rao then directed them to increase the number of beds for black fungus treatment to 1,500. Of these, 1,100 beds are for Hyderabad and 400 beds for the districts. Immediately, 200 beds in Sarojini Devi Hospital and 160 beds in Gandhi Hospital will be arranged for patients of the infection.
“Though Covid-19 cases are on the decline in the State, lockdown will be implemented strictly considering the health of the people,” the CM said. He instructed officials to expedite the process of recruiting the required staff at PHCs. “The government will not hesitate to spend any amount for containing Covid-19. During the lockdown, the expenditure of some departments will come down and the expenditure of some departments will increase. So, allocate funds accordingly,” the CM told Finance Minister T Harish Rao.
KCR willing to learn from other States’ containment measures
Rao also wanted the officials to go to Delhi, if necessary, to study how they had contained Covid-19 with the implementation of the lockdown. The Chief Minister said Telangana had succeeded in containing the pandemic. “It will be considered as our victory over Covid-19, when the total number of cases are reduced to five per cent,” the Chief Minister said. He said that Delhi and Maharashtra had achieved good results and there was nothing wrong in learning from them.
As people from other States too were coming to Hyderabad for treatment, the Chief Minister said the population of the State should be estimated to be 10 crore instead of four crore. He also wanted the officials to procure the required medicines for black fungus.