VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has claimed that better medical services are now being provided in Andhra Pradesh than anywhere else in the country, despite not having Tier-1 cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. He also noted that even the death rate in Andhra Pradesh is much better compared to that in most states.
Reddy said that the government had spent over Rs 87,000 crore in the last 22 months, by crediting money directly into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts without any corruption or discrimination. He asked, “Would such a government be reluctant to give vaccines at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore?”
He said Joint Collectors (Village/Ward Secretariat, development) should completely focus on tackling Covid in districts. They should ensure good sanitation facilities, quality food supply, availability of doctors and paramedical staff, setting up of help desks etc. They should monitor the performance of Aarogya Mitras through CCTV cameras. They also should coordinate with call centre and ensure all works are done on time.
The CM also instructed District Collectors to take up more responsibilities and to set up oxygen war rooms in their districts along with SOS service. Immediate action should be taken when an emergency request comes through. He instructed that 50 per cent of beds should be allocated to Aarogyasri beneficiaries in temporary empanelled hospitals and also in non-empanelled hospitals notified by the district authorities.
He told the officials to monitor whether the medications were being received regularly, check availability of Remdesivir injections and ensure that there were no lapses.
