Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has ordered that all vacancies in government hospitals and primary health centres (PHCs) be filled at the earliest in order to tackle COVID-19. He has also asked officials to increase the number of beds at COVID hospitals in Anantapur, Kurnool, Chittoor, Nellore, Vijayawada, Guntur, Kakinada and Visakhapatnam.
In a review meeting on COVID containment at his camp office on Saturday, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy called upon all the departments concerned to be prepared to handle any contingency likely to be created by the possible influx of a large number of people from other States in the wake of the resumption of trains and flights.
He also stressed the need for a “door-level reporting” structure that enables the government to quickly respond to the evolving situation.
The Chief Minister pointed out that if people facing the high risk of being infected got themselves tested in advance, deaths could be prevented.
Village clinics
He reiterated that the fight against COVID-19 was going to be a long-drawn affair as the virus would not vanish overnight, and called for a realistic approach. Village clinics would be helpful in rendering healthcare services at the grass root level, he observed.
Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney and Special CS (medical, health and family welfare) K.S. Jawahar Reddy were among those who participated.
