CENTRE asks States & UTs to involve pvt healthcare providers for treatment of corona patients

AS number of cases related to  COVID-19 is rising alarmingly in some parts of India, Union Ministry for Health  & Family Welfare has asked States and Union Territories struggling to provide beds and treatment to seek the help of the private healthcare providers to facilitate enhanced bed availability and critical health care facilities. The Government says that the COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 52.46 percent in the country and a total of one lakh 80 thousand 13 people affected with Coronavirus have been cured in the country. During the last 24 hours, 10 thousand 215 people have recovered from this infection. Presently, the total number of active Corona cases in the country is one lakh 53 thousand 178. The  States and UTs have also been asked to ensure fair and transparent charges for the services being provided. Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have already taken the initiative in this regard. These states have negotiated and reached an agreement with the private sector on reasonable rates and arrangements to provide critical care for  COVID-19 patients. The Ministry said, the country now has the capacity to test 3 lakh samples per day. The total number of samples tested thus so far is nearly sixty lakhs with one lakh 54 thousand 935 samples tested in the last 24 hours. AIR  reports testing capacity is continuously being ramped up. A network of 907 labs has been created so far in the country to test  COVID-19 samples. This includes 659 labs in the government sector and 248 in private. In the national capital, all the 11 Districts will have assigned labs for exclusively testing the samples from these districts. The samples from each district are being sent to these labs to ensure timely testing and getting the results without any delay. Currently, 42 labs are functional in Delhi with per day testing capacity of around 17 thousand samples. For making testing more affordable and increase the volume of testing, ICMR has also recommended the use of rapid antigen test kits for diagnosis of COVID-19 in containment zones and healthcare settings under strict medical supervision. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has visited LNJP Hospital under Delhi Government, spoke to the authorities to ascertain problem-related to treatment of COVID patients. He has assured Delhiites of arranging 500 coaches turned into corona clinics with all medical facilities. These comprise 8,000 beds and will be stationed at Anand Vihar Railway Station close to Delhi-UP border.