The Andhra Pradesh government is making preparations and readying itself to tackle a possible third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, including by hiring more doctors. In an effort to provide better paediatric treatment, the state is making arrangements to train healthcare professionals for this purpose.
On Tuesday, a meeting of senior ministers headed by Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas and included ministers Botcha Satyanarana, Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, Kurasala Kannababu, advisor to state government Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy, among others took place. The ministers discussed Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's recommendation of setting up health hubs across the state near human settlements.
Likewise, they decided to offer medical treatment to children at all government hospitals, including offering free treatment under the Arogyasri scheme. Similarly, the ministers resolved to hasten the vaccination drive, especially for mothers with children below 5 years of age.
Senior health officials have been directed to be prepared to face any kind of situation during a possible third wave, including keeping all kinds of medicines handy. Health officials have also been instructed to focus on providing better treatment to all those suffering from mucormycosis.
Despite the number of COVID-19 cases coming down in the state, the Health Minister and others noted that more than 2,000 mucormycosis or black fungus cases have been reported from across the southern state. Steps are also being taken to recruit more doctors to treat children.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh's COVID-19 death toll crossed the 12,000 mark on Tuesday with 53 fresh fatalities. As per the medical bulletin, Andhra reported 5,741 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the state's tally to over 18.2 lakh, while the active caseload dropped to 75,134. At the same time, 10,564 more persons have recovered from the disease in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to over 17.3 lakh.