3,000 beds ready in Telangana for coronavirus cases

Hyderabad: The condition of the 24-year-old man who was admitted to the Gandhi General Hospital (GGH) in the city on Monday after testing positive for coronavirus infection was stable, health minister Etela Rajendar said on Tuesday. “In fact, his condition has improved since Monday,” Mr Rajender said.

The minister, while addressing a press conference, said that a total of 88 persons who had come into contact with the patient during his travel from Bengaluru to the city, and subsequently, have been contacted and advised to visit the Gandhi Hospital for Covid-19 tests.

Of these, 45 persons have already reported to the GGH, including 20 personnel from Apollo Hospitals in Secunderabad. The rest would also be coming in soon for the tests, he said.

Replying to a question, he said though the Central government guidelines do not mandate a test for those not displaying any symptoms, the state government was not taking any chances and had decided to go ahead and conduct tests.

He said that a team of health officials would soon visit Kerala, which had previously successfully controlled the spread of the Nipah virus and turned around the health of three Covid-19 patients last month. “We will learn from their experience and study how they did it,” he said.

The government has made extensive arrangements for any eventuality, he said, elaborating further that till Tuesday, it had arranged for a total of 3,000 beds in both government hospitals and teaching hospitals run by private managements across the state.

“We have decided to add the government hospital in Vikarabad to the plan for creating more beds in isolation wards. We have been in touch with retired medical professors and other doctors as well as nursing staff who have expressed willingness to return to work if the need arises if there were more cases of the disease,” he said.

“The Chief Minister has released `100 crore for emergency expenses to control the disease. There is absolutely no need for any panic or fear about the disease. People should remain calm,” Rajendar said.

The minister said according to studies, 81 per cent of all Covid-19 cases are mild and resemble a common cold. Fourteen per cent of all those admitted for treatment the worldover have been cured and just three per cent from had resulted in fatalities, he added.