AP extends night curfew for another week; Jagan prioritizes vaccination for teachers

During a COVID-19 review meeting, the Chief Minister said although nearly 35 lakh vaccine doses were given to private hospitals since May 2021, only about 4,63,590 doses were administered. The state government will appeal to the Centre to allocate those vaccine doses to the government, he added.

So far, the state has received 1,80,82,390 vaccine doses of which 8,65,500 doses are yet to be administered. As of date, a total of 1,82,49,851 vaccine doses have been administered, where almost 11 lakh doses were saved from wastage through efficient management, Jagan said, adding that all mothers with children under the age of five have been vaccinated and 31,796 people who are travelling abroad were also vaccinated.

Further, Jagan directed the officials to brace for the possible third wave and asked officials to prepare an action plan for the treatment of children since studies show that children would be the most affected by the third wave. Officials were also instructed to expedite works on pediatric supercare hospitals in Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, and Tirupati. The Chief Minister instructed them to equip police battalions with COVID care equipment and recruit doctors.

30% incentive for setting up oxygen plants

Jagan instructed the authorities to make oxygen beds available in CHCs and teaching hospitals and equip all PHCs with oxygen cylinders and concentrators. He directed the officials to put in place proper Internet facility for smooth access to telemedicine services in all health centres.

The Chief Minister also inquired about the progress of setting up oxygen generation plants in every private hospital with more than 50 beds. He clarified that the state government is giving 30 per cent incentive for setting up these plants in the state.

State has 24,708 active cases

Meanwhile, the officials informed the Chief Minister that there were 24,708 active cases at present in the state. The recovery rate is 98.05 per cent and the positivity rate has decreased to 2.83 per cent, the officials said, adding that the positivity rate is less than three per cent in eight districts and almost 94.19 per cent of patients in network hospitals are being treated under the Aarogyasri scheme.

The officials said the number of black fungus cases has also decreased. The state registered 4,075 black fungus cases to date and 863 patients are undergoing treatment. They also said that so far 1,41,42,094 people have been vaccinated where 1,00,34,337 have got the first dose and 41,07,757 have completed the two-dose vaccination.