By PTI
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday ordered the establishment of a 1,000-bed makeshift COVID hospital here to tackle the rising number of coronavirus cases.
The state had on Thursday reported 104 deaths and 22,439 fresh cases, pushing the fatality count to 9,480 and the total infection number to 7,66,360.
The Chief Minister made the direction for setting up the hospital during a review meeting with divisional commissioners, district magistrates, chief medical officers and his Team-11 (a core team of 11 officers).
“A 1,000-bed COVID hospital should be established in Lucknow. The venue of the Defence Expo may be a good place for this,” said a government spokesperson, quoting the Chief Minister.
He directed the officials to review the availability of medical oxygen on a daily basis.
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“Continuous supply of oxygen to COVID hospitals in all districts must be ensured. The control room set up by the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department in connection with this, should remain active 24 hours,” he said.
The department should ensure adequate availability of Remdesivir, he said, adding: “Its monitoring should be done by the Chief Secretary’s office. Additional Remdesivir should be purchased while assessing the situation for the next one month.”
Adityanath directed the officials to ensure smooth operation of ambulance services.
“Besides this, the availability of medical personnel, COVID beds, medicines, medical equipments and oxygen should always be maintained in every district,” he said, adding the government should be informed about every need.
He also said, “Government and private laboratories should work with full capacity for COVID testing. Any negligence in this work is not acceptable. Rates have also been fixed at the government-level for COVID testing. Ensure that these arrangements are implemented by the district administration with quality control.”
Due to the rise in cases, OPD services should be suspended in all government hospitals of the state, teleconsultation should be promoted in its place and only emergency services should be operated in government hospitals, he stressed.
He further said: “UP has an excellent experience of COVID management. Our policies have received global acclaim. Our victory in this battle of COVID-19 is certain. Every citizen of the state has an important role in it. Compliance with the COVID protocol is in everyone’s interest. Masks, sanitisation and physical distancing have to be included in our lifestyle.”
The Chief Minister said the facilities and needs of the people in home isolation should be taken care of and medical kits containing all types of essential medicines should be made available to them.
Asking officials to visit the Integrated Command and Control Centre in every district, he said the daily situation should be conveyed to the CM’s office.
He stressed on carrying out sanitation, sanitisation and fogging activities regularly in all urban and rural areas of the state.