BHUBANESWAR : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday directed officials to keep a close watch on private hospitals treating Covid patients and ensure that they charge according to the rate fixed by the government. Strong action should be taken against hospitals found overcharging and indulging in unethical profiteering, he instructed State and district administrations.
Reviewing the pandemic situation in the State, the Chief Minister asked the officials to ensure the helplines in Covid hospitals are active and effective. He said relatives of the patients should be informed about their condition regularly. The State and district level officials involved in Covid management should take opinion directly from the doctors in-charge of the ICUs and HDUs and act accordingly to make the decisions more realistic, he said.
The Chief Minister said as medical oxygen is a vital life-saving treatment for patients in the second wave, officials should make foolproof arrangement about its availability and monitor the situation 24 hours. Besides, fire safety in hospitals should be given primacy and the situation monitored at all times, he added.
Stating that vaccination is crucial in the fight against the pandemic, the Chief Minister said hassle-free system should be put in place at all the session sites. He said the government is taking steps to procure more vaccines to make it available to all. Senior citizens, women and people belonging to weaker sections should be taken care of, he added.
He also asked the officials to ensure that all sevayats and their family members are vaccinated before Rath Yatra on July 12. The Chief Minister said the fight against Covid-19 will be a long one and asked the officials to collect information about a possible third wave from now and be prepared to tackle it. He advised the officials to help people in need by utilising the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund in these challenging times.
He said during the last one month, Covid cases have increased manifold in several districts and the government has imposed lockdown to contain the spread. However, though results of lockdown are positive, in some places situation needs to improve. He said Odisha has been successful in tackling disaster management due to community participation and this should be replicated in the fight against Covid-19.
‘Take action against overcharging by pvt hospitals’
Assistance of locals in urban areas and panchayat representatives should be taken to involve the community in its fight against the deadly virus, he added. Additional Chief Secretary of Health PK Mohapatra said Odisha’s Covid active cases are 2.7 per cent (pc) of the country.
He said the death rate in the State is 0.4 pc compared to all India rate of 1.09 pc. Besides Khurda and Cuttack districts, the number of cases in Chhattisgarh bordering districts remains worrying for the State. The test positivity rate has also remained at 20.2 pc since the last 20 days, he said.
CM sanctions Rs 20 crore to set up RT-PCR centres
Bhubaneswar: In a bid to ramp up testing in the State, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday sanctioned Rs 20 crore to set up 16 RT-PCR testing centres at the district level. The testing centres will be set up at the headquarters of Bhadrak, Boudh, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Nabarangapur, Malkangiri, Nuapada, Subarnapur, Kandhamal, Sundargarh, Rayagada and Bargarh districts. The Chief Minister said a micro-biologist and three laboratory technicians will be deployed in each centre for the purpose.