Upgrade hospitals to handle more COVID-19 cases, ensure healthcare staff, Centre asks states

Centre has asked state governments to expedite upgradation of hospital infrastructure, ensure availability of medical equipment, trained manpower to manage COVID-19 cases as the SARS CoV-2 infection continued to spread across the country.

The Centre’s directives came at a meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba with top state officials even as India’s COVID-19 count neared the three-lakh mark on Friday.

Gauba asked the state governments to pay special attention to the emerging epicentres of the disease and undertake stringent containment measures to check the spread of virus.

The total confirmed cases of COVID-19 increased by 10,965 to touch 2,97,535 on Friday which included 8,498 fatalities, the health ministry said.

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India has a total of 1,41,842 patients under medical supervision, while 1,47,194 persons have been discharged from hospitals or COVID care facilities.

According to a separate DH COVID-19 Tracker, India had 2,98,148 cases as of 7:00 p.m. on Friday.

The Cabinet Secretary also advised state officers to carry out active house-to-house surveillance through special teams in containment zones for early identification of cases.

“They were requested to expedite up-gradation of hospital infrastructure so as to manage the cases as per projections besides ensuring sufficient logistics such as pulse oximeters, and trained human resources including doctors, staff nurses, non-clinical staff,” a senior official said.

Gauba also underscored the importance of preventive measures for vulnerable population and timely referrals base on symptoms and improving clinical practices.

On the testing front, India had tested 53.63 lakh samples for COVID-19 through its network of 877 laboratories – 637 state-run and 240 private institutions. On Thursday, 1.50 lakh samples were tested through this network of laboratories.

Maharashtra inched towards the grim milestone of one lakh-mark with 97,648 cases on Friday. Tamil Nadu registered a record hike in its daily coronavirus tally with 1,875 new cases reported as on Friday morning. At 38,716, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number COVID-19 patients after Maharashtra.