As the number of positive cases neared 1,000 in Telangana, an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has reached Hyderabad on Saturday to take stock of the corona virus situation and monitor the lockdown process in the state. The central team is visiting the state in accordance with the Disaster Management Act.
Each team will have eight members including a senior public health specialist and a senior officer of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). These teams will monitor hotspot areas, asess health infrastructure, disaster management and provide additional assistance to states. The task force team will review the hospitalisation facilities in the state, preparation of the state in terms of available beds, ramping up the number of hospitals and care centres dedicated to Covid-19 management.
The central team will review the facilities at the Gachibowli Covid-19 hospital, Gandhi Hospital and other medical facilities set up by the Telangana government. The team will assess the level of testing, availability of PPE and masks for health professionals, availability of oxygen beds, ICUs, number of surveillance teams. The team will submit a detailed report on the situation in the state following which a central plan of action will be suggested to further contain the virus. After the assessment, the team will issue necessary directions to the Telangana government for redressal.
The central government has already sent inter-ministerial teams to monitor certain hotspot districts in four states – Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
On Friday, 13 fresh cases of were reported in Telangana, taking the tally to 983. The number of active cases stands at 663. The virus has so far claimed 25 lives in the state.
