HYDERABAD: Hinting at a longdrawn battle against Covid-19, Telangana health minister Eatala Rajender on Friday said the fight against the pandemic will go on for at least a year. He, however, ruled out imposing another total lockdown in the state despite a sharp surge in cases in the last two weeks.
The minister also said the state government has moral responsibility and accountability to the affected people.
“Private labs conduct Covid tests and tell you whether you have tested positive or negative. Their job ends there. But the government has a bigger responsibility. We trace contacts of a Covid positive person, test them, initiate containment measures and also keep a surveillance on them. It cannot be done by the private labs or individuals,” he said.
Talking to TOI, Rajender said he gets about 20 calls daily from people on how the private hospitals have charged them more for treatment.
Attempt to tarnish govt image: Eatala
Reacting on the high positivity rate of cases in Telangana, the minister said instead of looking at the cases, one should see the low mortality rate.
“Telangana’s positivity rate is 16%. The US’ positivity rate also stands at 16%. The low mortality rate and recovery are more important for us. The state’s mortality rate is 2.02% and the recovery rate is more than 50 %.” He said a majority of the Covid deaths were those of elderly, dialysis patients and persons with comorbidities.
Asked how Kerala is able to control the spread of the virus, he said: “Kerala does not have thickly populated areas such as Addagutta (the biggest slum in Hyderabad) and Talabkatta in the Old City. A majority of the people in that state maintain hygiene unlike here.”
He rejected the criticism over low tests in the state. “ICMR has clearly said that tests should be done only to symptomatic and their contacts. Those who test positive are kept in isolation and treated. We have been following these guidelines.”
He said Telangana is not convinced about doing the rapid tests which have 30% accuracy unlike RT-PCR tests, which have a better accuracy rate. Showing a press clipping, the minister said even Dubai has banned the rapid tests. “The ICMR had initially advised the states to do rapid tests. But it stopped them later. Now, it is advising the states to conduct more tests by using the rapid kits manufactured by a firm. However, from the beginning, Telangana has been doing only RT-PCR tests,” he claimed.
“We have 17,000 beds in various government hospitals with 1,000 ventilators and 5,000 beds with oxygen. We have identified another 35,000 beds in private hospitals,” he added. He alleged that “some forces”, including political parties, were trying tarnish the image of the KCR government, especially the image of state-run hospitals treating a large number of Covid patients.
The minister also said the state government has moral responsibility and accountability to the affected people.
“Private labs conduct Covid tests and tell you whether you have tested positive or negative. Their job ends there. But the government has a bigger responsibility. We trace contacts of a Covid positive person, test them, initiate containment measures and also keep a surveillance on them. It cannot be done by the private labs or individuals,” he said.
Talking to TOI, Rajender said he gets about 20 calls daily from people on how the private hospitals have charged them more for treatment.
Attempt to tarnish govt image: Eatala
Reacting on the high positivity rate of cases in Telangana, the minister said instead of looking at the cases, one should see the low mortality rate.
“Telangana’s positivity rate is 16%. The US’ positivity rate also stands at 16%. The low mortality rate and recovery are more important for us. The state’s mortality rate is 2.02% and the recovery rate is more than 50 %.” He said a majority of the Covid deaths were those of elderly, dialysis patients and persons with comorbidities.
Asked how Kerala is able to control the spread of the virus, he said: “Kerala does not have thickly populated areas such as Addagutta (the biggest slum in Hyderabad) and Talabkatta in the Old City. A majority of the people in that state maintain hygiene unlike here.”
He rejected the criticism over low tests in the state. “ICMR has clearly said that tests should be done only to symptomatic and their contacts. Those who test positive are kept in isolation and treated. We have been following these guidelines.”
He said Telangana is not convinced about doing the rapid tests which have 30% accuracy unlike RT-PCR tests, which have a better accuracy rate. Showing a press clipping, the minister said even Dubai has banned the rapid tests. “The ICMR had initially advised the states to do rapid tests. But it stopped them later. Now, it is advising the states to conduct more tests by using the rapid kits manufactured by a firm. However, from the beginning, Telangana has been doing only RT-PCR tests,” he claimed.
“We have 17,000 beds in various government hospitals with 1,000 ventilators and 5,000 beds with oxygen. We have identified another 35,000 beds in private hospitals,” he added. He alleged that “some forces”, including political parties, were trying tarnish the image of the KCR government, especially the image of state-run hospitals treating a large number of Covid patients.
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