Andhra Pradesh government hospitals get 144 oxygen plants

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government is taking various steps to contain the coronavirus spread ahead of the third wave. As many as 144 oxygen plants were set up at a cost of Rs 426 crore.

In virtual mode, chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated 144 Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) Oxygen Plants at various government hospitals across the state and dedicated them to the nation.

Jagan said 144 oxygen plants have been set up in government hospitals. The government is also providing a 30 per cent subsidy to private hospitals with over 100-bed capacity to set up oxygen plants. Steps were taken to achieve self-sufficiency in oxygen, as the entire country faced a severe shortage of oxygen during the second wave.

The government has purchased 25 oxygen cryogenic ISO containers for transporting Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), along with 74 LMO tanks. Oxygen pipelines were attached to 24,419 beds in government hospitals at a cost of Rs 90 crore and a string of Pediatric Care Units with 20 beds each have been set up at community health centers.

This apart, the CM said, 20 state-of-the-art VRDL labs have been set up in the state, increasing the testing capacity from zero to one lakh tests per day. With the possible threat from Omicron, a genome sequencing lab has been set up in Vijayawada, which is the second in the country, next to Kerala.

As for vaccination, Jagan said 80 per cent of the people above 18 years have received two doses of vaccine and 82 per cent of teens between 15-18 years were administered with a single dose of vaccine. Andhra Pradesh has been standing as a role model to other states in terms of effective Covid containment, whereas over 33 door-to-door surveys were conducted.

Right from setting YSR Health Clinics at village level to introducing the family doctor concept, the government is focusing on the development of the medical and health sector through Nadu-Nedu, construction of 16 new medical and nursing colleges, along with the recruitment of 39,000 staff, the CM said.

Jagan inspected 20 types of advanced medical equipment brought by the Medical and Health Department and showcased at the camp office here, and enquired about their functioning.

Deputy chief minister Srinivas, Municipal and Urban Development minister Botsa, chief secretary Sharma, Medical and Health Principal Secretary Singhal, finance secretary Gulzar, Covid task force committee chairman Krishnababu, Health commissioner Bhaskar, APMSIDC VC and MD Muralidhar Reddy, APVVP commissioner Vinod, APMSIDC chairman Chandrasekhar and director of Medical Health Ravishankar were among the officials present.