Minister calls for increased COVID-19 tests in Visakhapatnam

Andhra Pradesh Minister of Tourism Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao on Friday spoke to the media in Visakhapatnam after a Task Force review meeting organised to assess the COVID-19 related activities in the state. The Minister called for increasing the number of tests, as COVID-19 cases are on a steady rise in Visakhapatnam.

During the meet, Minister Srinivasa Rao stated that 2,530 positive cases (at the time of his address) have been registered in Vizag so far. Of these, 1,521 have recovered and discharged while 963 patients are being treated at hospitals and COVID Care Centres in the city. 46 people succumbed to the infection. Reporting on the containment clusters in Vizag, the Tourism Minister said that there were 212 active clusters, 129 very active clusters, 39 denotified and 217 dormant clusters in Vizag. He directed that the lockdown guidelines must be strictly implemented in the containment zones to effectively control the spread of the virus.

The authorities have arranged for a total of 2,274 beds, 54 ventilators and three sample collection centres at the Government Chest Hospital and Andhra Medical College, revealed the Minister. Giving an update on the number of tests being conducted every day, M Srinivasa Rao said that approximately 3,000 COVID-19 tests are being conducted on a daily basis in Visakhapatnam. So far, over one lakh people have been tested for free in the district, and the authorities have plans of increasing the testing number to 4,000 within the next ten days, he added.

Giving instructions about care to be provided to the patients currently seeking treatment at COVID Care Centres and hospitals, Minister Srinivasa Rao instructed the officials to provide nutritious food, basic amenities like clean toilets and beds and clean drinking water while ensuring thorough and regular disinfection.

During the press meet, District Collector V Vinay Chand stated that testing strategies are also being emphasized in rural areas. He said that Truenat tests would be conducted at ward/village secretariats henceforth.