COVID Care Centres to be set up in every constituency of Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam authorities have been relentlessly working towards curbing the spread of COVID-19 over the past few months. In the latest, District Collector V Vinay Chand ordered officials that COVID Care Centres (CCCs) must be set up in every constituency of Visakhapatnam. Orders to finalise locations for the same were given during a COVID-19 review meeting with revenue and medical officers at the Collectorate.

Speaking at the review meeting, the District Collector said that a location that is a centre point for the entire constituency must be chosen to set up the COVID Care Centre. He stated that the move is being taken by the authorities in line with the Andhra Pradesh state government’s orders as COVID-19 cases have been on the rise in both urban and rural constituencies of Vizag. All the Revenue Divisional Officers (RDOs) were instructed to submit details of the finalised locations to the Collector by Tuesday evening.

As per the plans, patients with mild and very mild symptoms will be treated in these COVID Care Centres in order to decentralise the medical treatment and take pressure off of the major hospitals in Visakhapatnam. All the Revenue Divisional Officers will be responsible for the smooth functioning of the centres, stated Collector Vinay Chand. Additionally, a special officer will be allocated to CCCs in every constituency. A minimum of 300 beds must be made available at every centre. In addition to basic facilities, instructions were given to provide patients with blood tests, ECG, X-Ray and other tests at the centre itself, the Collector added.

Further, instructions were given to conduct COVID tests at the CCCs and Primary Health Care Centres. An ambulance must be available at the centre at all times, to ferry patients in critical condition to the nearest hospital with a quarantine facility. Instructions were also sent to the RDOs to provide nutritious food, sanitizers, fans, clean toilets and beds at the centre.