KCR will not lock down state
Tells people to begin Covid treatment without tests; Asks PM for more oxygen
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday ruled out imposing lockdown in the state as the move did not help other states in controlling the spread of Covid 19.
Urging people not to panic after noticing symptoms, the Chief Minister asked them to start medication without being worried over getting tested. The medical kits would be provided by the government to every household, he said.
The Chief Minister was of the view that lockdown was counterproductive as the common man would be badly hit and the economy would collapse. He recollected the horrifying experiences of last year’s lockdown and stressed the need for a proper atmosphere for free movement of paddy and rice during the current season of purchase of agricultural produce. Instead, the government would step up containment measures and improve health infrastructure and treatment, he said. He held a detailed review with officials concerned after a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to a CMO release, the Chief Minister brought to Modi’s notice the issue of patients from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh rushing to Hyderabad for Covid treatment in view of the state capital being developed into a medical hub. There is a severe impact on supply of oxygen and essential medicines including Remdesivir as 50 per cent people from outside in excess to Telangana’s population thronging Hyderabad for better treatment.
He informed the Prime Minister that the state was not receiving the allocated quota of oxygen from Tamil Nadu and Odisha. He urged the Prime Minister to enhance the allocation of oxygen from
440 metric tonnes (MT) to
500 MT and remdesivir from 4,900 vials per day to
25,000 besides providing at least two lakh doses of vaccine every day.
The CMO said railway minister Piyush Goyal spoke to the Chief Minister on the directions of the Prime Minister and assured all help. He told the Chief Minister that oxygen supplies would be arranged from eastern states instead of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Later, at the review with Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other officials, he directed them to hold daily media conferences and reveal to people the number of infected people, treated and discharged. A special officer should be appointed to coordinate the anti-Covid operations, he said.