Step up healthcare facilities, CM tells PM KCR briefs Modi on Covid situation through videoconference

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on increasing medical facilities by taking lessons from the Coronavirus pandemic. He was speaking at a videoconference held by the Prime Minister with Chief Ministers of 10 states on Tuesday.

Briefing the Prime Minister about the Coronavirus situation in the state, Mr Rao said, “The experience has taught us a lesson that there is an urgent need to step up medical facilities. Visionary outlook and thinking are necessary to take proper measures in the medical sector for a better future. Strategic planning should be done to create comprehensive medical facilities.”

The Centre and the states should jointly implement this comprehensive strategy, he said. “We never had any Corona-like experience in the past. We do not know how many days this pandemic will last.

While dealing with the pandemic, we should focus on how we are going to deal with such a situation in future and how are we going to offer better medical facilities to the people when the need arises,” the Chief Minister said.

Mr Rao told the Prime Minister: “We have to initiate measures now so that whenever an emergency medical situation develops, we will be able to face it efficiently. In

THE CENTRE and the states should jointly implement this comprehensive strategy, he said. the past too, we have seen the emergence of several viruses, and there is every possibility that a Corona-like virus may come up again in future.”

Rao said, “we have to take measures now to face any eventuality in future. We have to think about what should be the ideal doctor-people ratio. How many new medical colleges do we need? We have to consult institutions like the Indian Medical Association (IMA), take proper advice and plan the measures.”He told the Prime Minister that the state government had taken all the measures to contain the Coronavirus and the recovery rate was 71 per cent while the death rate was 0.7 per cent. Mr Rao said the government had increased the number of tests manifold and better treatment was being given to Coronavirusaffected patients and adequate number of beds, medicines, staff and other equipment kept ready to tackle the situation.

He said, “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.”