Principal Secretary, Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department, Anil Kumar Singhal has said that there is no shortage of Remdesivir vials, oxygen, and beds for COVID-19 treatment in the State, and all arrangements are being made to increase testing.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Mr. Singhal said the usage of oxygen and occupancy in COVID hospitals were more now than during the peak of the first wave in 2020.
He said that nearly 30,000 doses of Remdesivir were available with the government, and, upon request, over 13,000 had been supplied to private hospitals in the last few days.
“There is a need to inquire into the use of Remdesivir if patients are forced to get the medicine despite the government supplying it to the notified hospitals. In such a case, the hospital concerned has either no permission to treat COVID-19 patients or is resorting to hoarding,” he said.
The government had set up four oxygen generation plants, and five more were going to come up in Guntur, Anantapur, Vizianagaram and Nellore, he said.
“During the peak of the first wave, about 260 tonnes oxygen was used per day. At present, over 400 tonnes of oxygen is being used per day. Also, there are about 4,700 patients at the COVID Care Centres, in which over 30,000 beds are available across the State,” he said.
“We will improve facilities and care at the COVID Care Centres so that all patients do not rush to the COVID hospitals,” he added.
Mr. Singhal said that the number of beds were also being increased across the State. “At present, 422 hospitals are offering 5,022 ICU beds and 18,600 oxygen-equipped beds, apart from general beds,” he added.
Only RT-PCR tests were being conducted at present, and from Thursday TrueNat tests would also be conducted to cover more samples daily.
He said the ‘104’ helpline was being strengthened. It has over 2,000 doctors for tele-consultation. “Soon, tele-consultation will be provided to the COVID-19 patients in home isolation,” he said.
