A meeting convened by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao with senior health officials on Monday took the stand that 95 % of coronavirus fatalities in the State were for reasons other than the virus.
“Nearly 95 % of patients who died had ailments like kidney, heart, liver, respiratory, cancer, diabetes and blood pressure. Their death was identified with coronavirus though co-morbidities was the cause. This was an unscientific understanding and misleading campaign which led to alarm among public,” the officials told Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao.
A release said the officials informed Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao that there was a conspiracy behind the campaign run by vested interests and the media. This affected the medical services to patients at hospitals.
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The officials requested the Chief Minister to appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court directive to carry out examination into the cause of death of all those who died irrespective of whether they suffered from coronavirus or not. It was impractical to implement High Court order because 900 to 1,000 people died of various reasons daily in the State.
They regretted that the status of coronavirus in the State and the projections in the media were a mismatch. It created alarm among public.
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The Gandhi Hospital had the capacity to treat 2,150 positive patients but the occupancy was only 247 as of date. About 1,000 beds were equipped with oxygen units. The facilities at the hospital were never fully utilised since the outbreak of the pandemic.
In fact, Telangana was far better placed in treating coronavirus patients than other States. There were 9.61 lakh personal protection equipment kits and 14 lakh N-95 masks available in the State.
The officials also informed the Chief Minister that attempts were made to demoralise health staff by projecting that doctors and para-medical staff tested positive. This was a natural phenomenon world over as the treating doctors and staff were anyhow affected. Also, public interest litigations on the dangers from coronavirus were frequently filed in court. As a result, senior doctors had to appear in court daily. It affected medical services in hospitals.
‘State prepared’
Replying to their apprehensions, the Chief Minister agreed that many patients were asymptomatic though they tested positive for coronavirus. He expressed the government’s preparedness even if the cases went up in State.
The government followed the guidelines of Indian Council of Medical Research in giving treatment to seriously affected persons in hospitals. Those who were asymptomatic though they were affected were given treatment at home.