Hyderabad: Telangana on Friday announced that it is going full steam with a ‘Treatment First’ plan to ensure people, who may have contracted Covid-19, do not develop moderate or serious symptoms, or complications that might require hospitalisation. With people lining up in front of hospitals and needing critical care which many hospitals are not able to provide because they are full, the health department said it had decided to consider individuals with early symptoms as Covid-19 positive cases.
The ‘treatment is more important than testing’ approach has resulted in identification of 19,099 people with Covid-like symptoms over the past three days, during the house-to-house fever survey and tens of thousands of people who were checked for their health at Covid-19 out-patient clinics at primary, urban primary, and community health centres across the state as well as at various other government run small and large hospitals.
All these people have been given medicine kits to start their immediate treatment, Director of Health Services Dr G. Srinivasa Rao said at a press conference. He said as many as 20,955 teams had been out in the field going house to house and that they had visited 11,22,369 houses so far as part of the survey to find people with Covid symptoms. “Those who have been identified as having symptoms were checked at the out-patient clinics and given medications. Our staff will continue to monitor their health. They will keep track of these people and if required, will make arrangements to shift any individual needing more attention to a hospital in an ambulance,” Dr Rao said.
The state government is the first in the country to adopt such an approach to prevent worsening of health of those who caught Covid and to reduce burden on hospitals, he said.
Dr Rao also appealed to people not to pressurise healthcare staff taking part in these surveys across the state for Covid medicine kits, as a matter of precaution in case they catch the disease. “Only those who have symptoms must use the medi kits. Do not insist on getting the kits. We have lakhs of them for distribution and anyone needing one, will be provided with it,” he said.
Urging people not to create an ‘artificial shortage’ of the kits, he said every person who received the medicine kit must stay isolated for two weeks. “Do not go out because you are taking medicines. Once medicines are taken, the body needs rest, good nutrition, and fluid intake. Take care of yourselves at home and the government is there to provide any additional help as needed,” he said.
