The Telangana government on Wednesday decided to enhance its testing capacity to 40,000 COVID-19 tests per day. Presently, the testing capacity of the state is around 20,000. The Telangana government has been conducting rapid antigen testing since last month, after repeated rebuking by the Telangana High Court.
A Cabinet meeting was held in Pragathi Bhavan, the official office-cum-residence of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. In the meeting, the Cabinet discussed the coronavirus crisis for over two hours with the experts, doctors, Medical and Health Principal Secretary and several heads of the Health Department.
The Cabinet said that they will set aside 10 lakh home isolation kits for COVID-19 patients, provide 10,000 oxygen beds across the state and additionally release another Rs 100 crore towards the crisis. The Cabinet said that the funds for the Medical and Health department should be released monthly without fail.
Further warning the private hospitals that have been overcharging the patients at exorbitant rates for COVID-19 treatment, the Cabinet said that they will stringently act against such hospitals. In Telangana, two hospitals, Deccan Hospital and Virinchi Hospital, have been denied permission to continue COVID-19 treatment after they were found guilty of charging the patients beyond the limit set by the government.
The Cabinet said that medicines like Remdesivir, low molecular weight Heparin, Dexamethasone injections, Favipiravir tablets, PPE kits and test kits would be made available in all the government hospitals. The government also authorized Collectors to hire employees to handle the crisis on a temporary basis.
The Cabinet urged the people not to get anxious about coronavirus. The Cabinet declared that the government is ready to give treatment to any number of cases whatever may be their number. The Cabinet urged the people that there is no need to rush to the private hospitals spending more money as the government hospitals are equipped with all facilities, medicines, experts doctors and the people should utilise these services. The Cabinet also made it clear that the government is ready to spend any amount of money to ensure medicines, equipment and facilities in the government hospitals. In this context, the government said it had taken several decisions.
“The coronavirus which spread to all the countries in the world, as on date, is on the decrease in all the major cities. Cases are coming down in Hyderabad also. In Telangana, the death rate is low and the rate of those recovering is more. Hence, there is no need for the people to feel anxious,” medical experts told the Cabinet, according to the press release from the Chief Minister’s Office.