The government has decided to distribute 16 crore masks in the State to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
It will also conduct tests on 32,349 people who have been identified by the ASHA workers and ANMs during the third round of door-to-survey. Besides, it is gearing up to conduct tests on 45,000 people in the zones where COVID-19 cases are being reported in a big way.
These issues were discussed at meeting chaired by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to review the status of coronavirus in the State on Sunday.
Three per person
Asking the officials to distribute the masks in a big way, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “As the population of the State stands at 5.3 crore, the government would have to supply 16 crore masks at the rate of three per person.”
The officials informed the Chief Minister that at the end of the third round of door-to-door survey, the ANMs and ASHA workers referred 32,349 people for screening. Of them, the doctors confirmed that 9,107 need to undergo the screening tests.
The Chief Minister, however, directed the doctors to conduct tests on all the people referred.
The officials further told the Chief Minister that they were gearing up to conduct 45,000 tests in zones where cases were being reported in a big way. The aim was to assess the extent of spread, they said.
Social distancing
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy instructed the officials to ensure that social distancing was followed at rythu bazaars in both the urban and rural areas.
The officials said that 420 cases were reported so far. While 13 of them were foreign returnees, 12 contracted the disease from them. Similarly, 199 cases pertained to Nizamuddin returnees and 161 contracted with the disease from them. The remaining pertained to people who had travelled to other States or contracted the disease from them.
