Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, who had recently asserted that the
state did not currently need a lockdown, today highlighted the need to focus on providing treatment to all the people showing symptoms of Covid-19 in the state.
Speaking after inspecting the Boggulukunta urban primary health centre, he asked the concerned officials to provide medical kits for home treatment to any patients showing Covid-19 symptoms for more than four days without waiting for test results.
"Following the directions issued by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to increase treatment facilities for Covid-19 to fight the ongoing second wave of the pandemic effectively, it has been decided that if symptoms such as fever and cold persist for longer than four days in patients, then they should be administered steroid-based medication as this can protect them from breathlessness and other related medical issues," the CS added.
While at the PHC, he also enquired about the functioning of the outpatient services for Covid-19 patients, which have been started across all the government healthcare facilities in the state. The doctors present informed him that regular treatment was being provided to outpatient by the facility at a community hall nearby so that overcrowding could be avoided.
Kumar then reiterated, once again, the need to provide the home kits to those with persistent symptoms, pointing out that this sort of timely home treatment would help in keeping beds free for critical patients while also helping outpatients recover well in their homes.
Secretary (Health) Syed Ali Murtuza Rizvi, GHMC Commissioner Lokesh Kumar, Zonal Commissioner Pravinya, Director of Public Health G Srinivas Rao and various other senior officials were also present during the inspection.
Though Kumar has maintained that Telangana does not currently need a lockdown, he has been actively reviewing the steps being taken to manage the pandemic in the state.
At a
virtual meeting with the GHMC's officials to review the steps being taken to manage the pandemic, held some days ago, the CS had instructed the officials to form teams comprising municipal workers and at least two Asha workers to carry out visits to every household in the GHMC area to identify people suffering from fever and other symptoms of Covid-19.
"After identifying the patients, the teams should hand over home treatment kits containing medicines. They should also advise the affected persons on the dosage of the medication and on other care measures. The teams must check on the patients and monitor their health regularly," he said.