In the backdrop of a rapid rise in coronavirus cases in Telangana, Health Minister E Rajender urged private hospitals to be responsible in providing treatment to coronavirus patients and the diagnostic centres to conduct tests strictly as per government norms. They should not see the virus tests as a means to make money, the minister said.
Rajender said the government would not hesitate to initiate action against the healthcare units for any violation, adding that such centres would have to inform the details of positive patients to the government as contact tracing, treatment and other protocols need to be taken up.
He further advised authorities of diagnostic centres to provide complete PPE kits to technicians conducting test to avoid the spread of the virus.
Rajender, who held a meeting with medical and health officials, directed the hospital at Gachibowli in the city to become operational within a week. The facility at Gachibowli was a sports centre, which has been transformed into a COVID-19 designated hospital by the state government.
He said the state government would step up its testing capacity in public sector labs to 6,600 tests per day. The present per day capacity of 2,290 tests would be increased by 4,310.
Rajender said arrangements should be made for testing by identifying COVID-19 symptoms at the level of Primary Health Centre (PHC) itself, an official release said.
Stressing on the need for improving the functioning of call centres, the minister suggested that people call '104' helpline in case of difficulty in accessing bed facility in hospitals and faced with other problems with regard to COVID-19.
Appealing to the people that each one of them should take precautions, the minister said the virus spread can be contained only with people's participation.
Telangana registered 872 new cases and seven deaths on Monday, taking the tally of infections in the state to 8,674. Of the 872 fresh cases, 713 were reported from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), followed by Ranga Reddy district confirming 107 cases.
A state government bulletin said 4,005 people have been discharged so far, while 4,452 were under treatment. With 7 fresh deaths, the toll in the state rose to 217. On Monday, 3,189 samples were tested taking the cumulative to 60,243.
The state government has recently announced that around 50,000 samples would be tested in Hyderabad and its neighbouring districts as part of measures to check the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, a 70-year old doctor died due to COVID-19 at a private hospital here, becoming the first healthcare professional to succumb to the deadly virus in the state, hospital sources said on Monday.
The doctor, running a private clinic here for the last 12 years, was admitted to hospital on June 17 and his end came on Sunday.
'10,000 Covid-19 Tests'
The Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, declared that it has, so far, conducted 10,205 COVID-19 tests and admitted 10,128 patients, including suspected cases.
The hospital, the designated health facility for treatment of positive cases in Telangana, has admitted a total of 4,056 virus positive patients, an official of the hospital said.
The total number of patients who have recovered and discharged was 3,423 and the total number recovered and discharged after being treated was 1,395, he said.
Meanwhile, the representatives of Telangana Super- Specialty Hospitals Association (TSHA) said people need not panic over COVID-19 and that asymptomatic patients and those with mild symptoms do not need hospital admission.
It is better to stay at home and take medical care over the phone, a representative of the association said. It is also economical, he said.
Talking about reports of unavailability of beds in hospitals, he said those facilities, which admitted three or four patients in a room, cannot do so now as only one patient can be put in a room now in the wake of intensive spread of COVID-19.
Healthcare workers, including doctors, nursing staff and ward boys, need to be in quarantine after a certain period of service, he said. Treatment in hospitals can be provided to patients who are in serious condition, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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