Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday said the COVID-19 situation in the State was under control and expressed the confidence that normalcy would return in a few days.
Addressing a video-conference attended by the Collectors and doctors and paramedical staff working in COVID-19 hospitals, Mr. Reddy said the positive cases in the State had increased due to the Tablighi Jamaat returnees, who were all traced now and kept in isolation.
The Chief Minister praised the doctors, paramedical staff and sanitation workers for their relentless service to contain the spread of coronavirus, which helped put the State in the forefront in the fight against the virus.
Mr. Reddy said although Andhra Pradesh did not have state-of-the-art hospitals like in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, it had expert and committed doctors and medical staff. Only 5% of the COVID-19 patients were under critical care while 14% were admitted to different hospitals and 81% were in home isolation. Four critical care hospitals were set up to provide the best medicare besides establishing isolation wards with 2,000 beds in every district.
Mr. Reddy said the medical and sanitation staff were working with dedication, putting their own lives at risk and thanked them for their spirited contribution to a noble cause.
Crop damage
In a separate review meeting with the officials of the Agriculture Department, the Chief Minister discussed the unseasonal rain that caused severe damage to the crops across the State. He asked the officials to collect detailed information on the extent of crop damage and chalk out an action plan to help the farmers.
He told the officials to pay ex gratia amount to the families of those who died in a boat accident.
Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, DGP Gautam Sawang, Special Chief Secretary Jawahar Reddy and other officials were among those present in the review meetings.
