Eatala Rajender says that treatment strategies for Covid-19 have been standardised across all the Government hospitals

The Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) in Telangana will have to play a big role in building confidence and assuring people that they would be able to safely recover from Covid-19 disease, State Health Minister, Eatala Rajender on Sunday said.

Interacting with close to 22,000 ASHA workers and 500 ANMs from across the Telangana State in a virtual meeting on Sunday, Rajender said that treatment strategies for Covid-19 have been standardised across all the Government hospitals and it doesn’t make any sense for the general public to get admitted to private hospitals and end-up spending a lot of money.

Rajender pointed out that on several occasions Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar made it very clear that containment of Covid-19 will be successful only if people participated in the process.

There is a definite need to



quickly identify Covid cases in districts, so that the virus can be contained at the earliest. The symptoms for seasonal ailments and Covid-19 overlap and that’s why Covid-19 tests on suspected patients must be conducted at the earliest. Persons with symptoms who have tested negative in rapid antigen tests must undergo RT-PCR tests, he said.

“This is not the time to relax on your past laurels because we have to remain alert till January. Both ASHA and ANM workers must play a vital role in providing health care services to patients with other seasonal ailments,” Rajender said.

In the meeting, ASHA and ANMs shared challenges that they face while discharging duties. The Health Minister assured that all their outstanding issues will be addressed. Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare, Vakati Karuna was also present.