Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas said Saturday that the government was doing its best to review the black marketing of remdesivir injections and to protect the lives of people affected by the second wave of COVID-19.
At a review meeting with officials from various wings of the county government involved in containing the pandemic, MPs (Tirupati, Chittoor and Rajampeta), MLAs and MLCs in Tirupati said the task force would work around the clock to review black marketing of injections. The vials would be made available to all state hospitals.
The minister appealed to the medical and paramedical staff to reduce the waste of oxygen in the face of the acute shortage. To overcome the shortage, up to 200 oxygen concentrators have been set up in the state, he said, calling on the private hospitals of the Aarogyasri network to forcibly make 50% of the beds available for COVID-19 patients.
“Improve the bed strength”
He also directed authorities to increase the number of beds in the COVID care centers and hospitals in light of the increasing number of positive cases.
Regarding the appeal by health workers at the SVRR Government Hospital that they had not been paid a salary for a long time, Mr. Srinivas urged the district authorities to investigate the matter immediately.
Panchayat Minister Raj P. Ramachandra Reddy urged officials to ensure a prompt explanation of the test results. Because of unprecedented peaks, enough beds have been prepared in some cases. The nine state hospitals were equipped with 2,874 beds and 294 ventilators. The establishment of 17 triage centers has effectively combated the spread of viruses, especially in rural areas, he said.
Deputy Prime Minister K. Narayanaswamy said people should work with district officials to fight the pandemic. The police could play an important role in making people aware of the need to comply with the protocols.