Don’t blindly follow ICMR rules, Governor Tamilsai tells Telangana govt
Hyderabad: Days after Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan expressed her displeasure over the manner in which the state government was handling the Covid-19 crisis, a meeting chaired by her at Raj Bhavan on Monday called on the state not to blindly follow ICMR’s broad guidelines on Covid-19 management.
The government has been swearing by ICMR guidelines whether on the issue of testing for the disease, treatment of patients, or the decision not to conduct tests on bodies of those who died after exhibiting Covid-19 symptoms, among other issues related to containment of the disease.
The meeting called for identification of Covid-19 cases through a rational state testing policy based on local conditions and the need for the government to formulate different protocols of treatment of patients depending on the severity of illness like, keeping in mind the tough and long way ahead.
The participants agreed that people who had died after showing Covid-19 symptoms be tested and, since a prolonged lockdown is not an affordable option, the “only strategy that can be adopted is ‘test, trace and treat’.”
The meeting called for safeguarding frontline warriors — doctors, paramedical staff, media persons, police, persons doing social service, media personnel and sanitary workers — who should be tested periodically.
Underlining the need for a private-public-people participation in containing the disease, it said this can be achieved only with a “strong health care system, with the blend of public and private health facilities backed by technology.”
Backing the demands of the post-graduate doctors at Gandhi Hospital who have been agitating for decentralising the treatment to other hospitals, and those of PG students seeking postponement of exams, the meeting said both these issues require acceptance by the government.
The meeting was attended by CCMB director Dr Rakesh Mishra, president of Apollo Hospitals Dr Hari Prasad, IMA Telagnana president Dr Vijendar Reddy, a Covid-19 specialist and nephrologist from the USA Dr Swaminathan, former Union health secretary K. Sujatha Rao, former DGP of undivided AP H.J. Dora, and the first patient treated with plasma therapy, K. Vamsimohan.
