The Telangana government today reviewed the preparedness and the measures taken to check the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the wake of a man from the state testing positive for the virus.
A cabinet sub-committee today met at the MCRHRD institute and decided to conduct a massive publicity campaign across the state to check the dreaded virus.
Ministers K T Rama Rao, Etala Rajender and Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other officials discussed the issue.
A decision was taken to set up a 24-hour call centre dedicated to the virus.
Speaking on the occasion, KTR asserted that the government was fully prepared to deal with the situation, and advised the public not to panic. The Gandhi, Chest, NIMS and other hospitals were well-equipped with special wards and the necessary facilities to check the problem, he said. Coronavirus would not cause death, and those with symptoms of infection should get checked up in the hospitals, he said.
He also directed the officials to conduct wide-ranging publicity in the state on the virus and steps to avoid getting infected. He asked them to set up hoardings on the main roads, and make use of all the media channels and newspapers to create awareness.
The state government has also decided to act tough against those who spread fake news related to Covid-19 in Telangana on the social media.
Health Minister Rajender said that isolation centres were being set up in the Military, Chest, Fever and Vikarabad hospitals, and that there were 600 to 800 beds in the medical colleges to isolate any affected patients.
On Monday, a 24-year-old software engineer from the city, who works in Bengaluru, was found to be
the first confirmed case of coronavirus from Telangana. The man, who came from Dubai with the virus, was admitted to Gandhi Hospital and is being treated.
UNICEF SuggestionsAccording to the UNICEF, coronavirus settles not in the air but on the ground, and so is not transmitted by air. When it falls onto a metal surface it lives for 12 hours. Washing hands with soap and water is a good enough way to avoid getting infected.
When the virus falls on a fabric it lives for 9 hours, and so washing clothes and being exposed to the sun for two hours also help kill it.
ALso, the virus lives on the hands for 10 minutes, so putting an alcohol sterilizer in your pockets and using it frequently is a good idea.
Drinking hot water and staying away from ice cream and cold foods is recommended. Gargling with warm and salt water kills the tonsils' germs and prevents them from entering the lungs, and so is a good practice.
The virus gets killed upon exposure to a temperature of just 26-27 C, and thus it is less likely to spread in hot regions.