The Telangana CM said that visionary thinking by the PM was necessary to take the nation past the coronavirus crisis and protect it from another outbreak.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus more on increasing the medical facilities in the country, taking lessons from the coronavirus experience.
He expressed his opinion during a video-conference that the Prime Minister held with ten Chief Ministers in the country on the coronavirus spread on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister explained to the Prime Minister the coronavirus situation in the state.
"We have taken all possible measures to contain the coronavirus spread. The recovery rate in the state is 71% while the death rate is 0.7%. We have increased the number of tests manifold. We are giving better treatment to the affected patients. We have kept ready an adequate number of beds, medicines and staff, and equipment. We are diligently following the guidelines issued from time to time by the ICMR, Niti Aayog and the Central government. Medical and health staff, police personnel and other government machinery are working round the clock and rendering their services," he said.
"The coronavirus experience has taught us that there is an urgent need to step up the medical facilities in the country. A visionary outlook and thinking is necessary to take proper and adequate measures in the
medical sector for a better future. Strategic planning should be done to create comprehensive medical facilities in the country," he added.
KCR suggested that both the Centre and the states should jointly implement this comprehensive strategy.
"We have never had any coronavirus-like experience in the past. While dealing with the existing pandemic, we should also focus on how we are going to handle another such situation in the future and how are we going to offer better medical facilities to people when the need arises. In the past, too, we have seen the emergence of several viruses, and there is every possibility that a coronavirus-like virus may come up again in future. We have to initiate measures now so that whenever such an emergency medical situation develops, we will be able to face it efficiently. We have to think about what the ideal doctor-people ratio should be, how many new medical colleges we need etc. We have to consult institutions like the Indian Medical Association (IMA), and take proper advice and plan the measures. The medical sector should be prepared to face the threat of coronavirus-like viruses in future. The PM should take the initiative in this regard. The Centre and the states should work jointly to create better medical facilities in the country," the CM suggested.
Medical and Health Minister Etala Rajender, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP Mahender Reddy, Government's Chief Advisor Rajiv Sharma, Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) Rizvi and others also participated.
Besides KCR, the CMs of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Bihar, Gujarat and UP interacted with the PM.