Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday asked the administration to set up doctors’ task forces in every district and division on the lines of those in Mumbai, to control the growing number of COVID-19 cases.
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“We set up a task force in Mumbai and it turned out to be extremely useful. Now, every district and division is required to have a similar task force since the number of patients is growing,” said Mr. Thackeray.
He was addressing district collectors, divisional commissioners and other State officials in a review meeting held via videoconferencing.
He said the task force should include veteran doctors and specialists who will be in constant touch with those in Mumbai. “We regularly issue guidelines regarding the medicines and treatment pattern. Sometimes those change as well. Therefore, it is important to have senior medical professionals participating. It has been proved in several cases that proper medical treatment ensures cure,” he said.
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Mr. Thackeray also said guidelines regarding tracking and contact tracing of COVID-19 patients should be followed strictly. “We have been fighting against the virus for the last three months. The rate of doubling has slowed. But we must ensure that death rate is not increasing. At the same time, in certain districts, the number of patients is increasing. Tracing and tracking is the only option to fight this,” he said.
According to principal secretary of the Health Department, Dr. Pradeep Vyas, the doubling rate in the State has increased to 23.1 days from 21.3 days, while the death rate has gone up to 4.8 from 3.7. While the country’s recovery rate is 50.4%, the State’s recovery is at 53.8%.