Three Covid-19 Cases In VSP, False Alarm In Kadapa

Vijayawada:The Andhra Pradesh government has geared up its health machinery to deal with a fresh Covid-19 threat by initiating various steps across hospitals.

Health minister Satya Kumar Yadav held a review meeting with senior health officials on seasonal diseases and Covid-19 on Friday. He said three cases have been reported in the state so far.

With the detection of a Covid-19 positive case with JN.1 strain, which is mild in nature, in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, the health authorities advised district hospitals to keep ready Covid-19 testing kits, isolation wards, antiviral drugs and specialist doctors. A similar advisory also went to the 17 government teaching hospitals in the state.

The health department advised those having cold, cough and fever for more than three to four days to visit the district hospitals or teaching hospitals near them and undergo the Covid-19 test.

Hospitals were told to keep adequate stocks of medical oxygen and ICUs ready for any Covid-19 related emergencies and other facilities in the hospitals.

The authorities are paying more attention to largely frequented urban centres like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kurnool and Tirupati. People have been asked to wear face-masks and maintain personal hygiene by washing hands at regular intervals after going out from home. Those suffering from chronic ailments and those using immunosuppressants, diabetes and aged persons are advised to be cautious.

Director of medical education Dr Narasimham said, “We are making necessary arrangements so that the cases can be detected and steps initiated to curb its spread.”

Meanwhile, the health authorities said a false alarm has been raised via social media, saying that a 75-year-old woman hailing from Chagalamarri village in Nandyal district was tested Covid-19 positive in Kadapa.

Kadapa district medical and health officer Dr Nagaraju said, “When the woman was suffering from cold, cough and fever, she was placed in an isolation ward in the government hospital in Kadapa but tests showed she was not infected with Covid-19.”

Minister Yadav said while a woman tested Covid-19 positive in Visakhapatnam, two more such were found. One of the family members of the infected woman and a government doctor who treated her have tested positive to the disease.

AP, he said, was relatively in a better position compared with the neighbouring states and added that there was no cause for concern now. The people were urged to be careful about the disease.

The minister asked the officials to deal with seasonal fevers and use modern technology like drones and musketeer app to control mosquitoes especially in Alluri Sitarama Raju and Parvathipuram Manyam districts. He advised the health authorities not to conceal the number of cases like malaria, dengue and chikungunya, unlike what happened in the past.