District Collector V. Vinay Chand has directed the officials concerned to survey all possible locations in different Assembly constituencies in the district for establishment of COVID-19 care centres, and report to him by Tuesday evening.
The Collector held a review meeting with the revenue and medical officials on the COVID-19 measures being taken in the district on Monday.
He said that in view of the extensive spread of new cases in both rural and urban areas, the State government has directed that COVID-19 care centres should be established at centrally-located places in the purview of different constituencies. In view of the increase in mild, very mild and asymptomatic cases, arrangements were being made to admit these type of cases into the treatment centres and provide care to them.
The supervision of the care centres would be the responsibility of the Revenue Divisional Officers. A Special Officer each would be posted for the constituency-level care centre. He directed the doctors of the network hospitals under AP Vaidya Vidhan Parishad to ensure that each care centre has at least 300 beds, triax facility, testing facilities like X-Ray, ECG and blood tests. Truenat, Rapid Antigen tests should be made available.
Testing centres should be opened at all PHCs and CHCs in the district and isolation beds should be kept ready at Area Hospitals and Community Health Centres. An ambulance should be invariably stationed at the COVID care centre and medical officers and staff should be available round the clock.
At the mandal-level, if 200 to 300 beds were available, quarantine centres should be kept ready and the Tehsildar concerned would be in charge of that centre. Food should be supplied to the patients in accordance with the prescribed menu and availability of water, fans, lights and proper sanitation of the toilets should be ensured. GVMC Commissioner G. Srijana, Joint Collector Arun Babu, DRO Sridevi, Visakhapatnam, Anakapalle and Narsipatnam RDOs P. Kishore, Sitarama Rao and Lakshmi Sivajyothi, DM & HO S. Tirupathi Rao, AMC Principal P.V. Sudhakar, D CHS Lakshman Rao and GVMC CMOH Sastry were among those who were present.
