Anantapur on Sunday registered 14 casualties and 3,356 COVID cases, the highest single-day toll and tally the district has seen since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The active caseload as of Sunday stood at 17,465. The district tested 7,456 samples, out of which 3,356 returned positive.
The surge in active cases has further led to shortage of oxygen-supported and ICU beds in the 45 government/private hospitals. In all, 2,554 patients are being treated at present in the hospitals (267 ICU, 1,536 oxygen beds, and 751 ordinary beds).
At a press conference on Sunday, District Medical and Health Officer Y. Kameswara Prasad said the administration was trying its best to bring in more oxygen-supported beds (500 of them) at Tadipatri at the earliest.
The administration has also advertised for recruiting medical staff and paramedics at the temporary facility for a six-month period. The work on the construction of the ‘German tents’ was also progressing at a fast pace, he said.
Meanwhile, District Collector Gandham Chandrudu on Sunday issued show-cause notices on two nurses and Super Speciality Hospital Superintendent for their alleged dereliction of duties due to which Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project(Anantapur) Director S. Subbarayudu died on Friday night.
Doctors suspended
Two duty doctors were suspended for their alleged non-availability at the time when he was brought for treatment.
Also, it turned out that a faulty oxygen flowmeter at the Super Speciality Hospital reportedly delayed the process of treatment despite the District Collector alerting the staff to keep everything ready for Subbarayudu’s arrival.
It took about 25 minutes for the treatment to begin and also there was no stretcher to carry the patient from the ground floor to the second floor, which forced his son and another relative to carry him in physically.
