Telangana govt releases an additional Rs.100 crore to increase Corona tests to 40,000 per day

Scaling up its battle against the coronavirus, the State government on Wednesday released an additional Rs.100 crore, apart from deciding to increase the number of tests to 40,000 per day and to further enhance infrastructure in government hospitals.

Assuring the public that there was no need to panic, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, who had released a contingency fund of Rs.100 crore in July as well, said the government was ready to treat each and every Covid-19 patient, without any limit on numbers. There would be no caps either on the funds to be used to procure equipment, medicines and infrastructure in government hospitals.

The Chief Minister also said there was no need for the people to rush to private hospitals and spend money for treatment. All the required equipment, medicines and expert doctors were already available in government hospitals, he said.

The State Cabinet, which met here on Wednesday, discussed the Covid-19 situation in the State for nearly three hours



with experts, doctors and top Health officials. The experts told the cabinet that impact of the coronavirus was waning in major cities across the world, with the number of cases in Hyderabad also coming down. The death rate in Telangana was less, with the recovery rate too being high, they said.

The State cabinet, which decided to set up 10,000 oxygen beds across the State, has bestowed powers upon District Collectors to recruit required staff on a temporary basis in government hospitals that were facing shortage of staff. It also decided to give home isolation kits to all those who test positive, apart from procuring 10 lakh home isolation kits.

The government also decided to procure Remdesivir, Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin, Dexamethasone injections and Favipiravir tablets, other essential drugs, PPE kits and testing kits in adequate numbers.

The Government will also bear expenses for medicines, injections and food for those offering free medical services in private medical colleges.