HYDERABAD: Telangana Minister for Health and Family Welfare T Harish Rao has announced that the medical and health department, in collaboration with the panchayat raj and municipal administration, would be conducting a door-to-door fever survey across the state from Friday, distributing Covid home isolation kits to those having symptoms and found positive for the virus.
Addressing the media after a virtual meeting he conducted, along with IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, to brief all district collectors on how to implement the survey, Harish Rao said that the fever survey, which was done during the Covid second wave, had given excellent results, saving the lives of many. It was appreciated by the NITI Aayog and the report of the economic survey, which had considered it as a best practice, prompting the Centre to direct other states to follow it.
The state government was following the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research to concentrate more on treatment rather than testing, he stated.
He said that home isolation kits with all required medicines were sourced a month in advance on the directions of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. Presently, 2 crore Covid testing kits and 1 crore home isolation kits have been made available in Telangana.
He said that testing kits (RTPCR and Rapid Antigen Tests) and home isolation kits were available at every ANM Sub-centre, PHC, Basti Dawakhanas and hospitals across the state and there was no need for people to go to private diagnostic centres. Asha workers would be regularly monitoring those in home isolation and would take them to the nearest hospital if the need arises.
The panchayat secretary, MPO, MPDO and healthcare workers would be implementing the fever survey in villages and municipal ward officials and health officials would be conducting it in municipalities.
He also said that all 27,000 hospital beds across the state have been converted into oxygen beds and that oxygen generation plants were established in 76 hospitals, which resulted in boosting the oxygen generation capacity from 120-130 MT during the second wave to 340 MT presently, which would be increased to 500 MT soon, as directed by the Chief Minister.
Noting that all government hospitals at district and taluk level were well equipped with ventilators, monitors and oxygen supply, he said children’s wards with ventilators and oxygen supply were set up in all government hospitals.
He hoped that the Centre would take a decision on the request made by the state government to reduce the time period between the second dose and precautionary dose from nine months to six months and allow all adults to receive precautionary doses the way citizens in developed countries were getting.
Pointing out that presently the occupancy rate of Covid-19 patients in hospitals was less than 1 per cent, he has urged the people to wear masks, follow physical distancing, get vaccinated and go to the nearest health centre if they develop symptoms.