6,000 Covid tests per day to be conducted in Visakhapatnam district

Visakhapatnam: District Collector V Vinay Chand directed the authorities to conduct 4,000 Covid-19 tests in urban areas and 2,000 in rural region per day.

At a review meeting held at the Collectorate on Monday, Vinay Chand said 80 per cent of the cases registered from August 16 to 22 were in urban areas and 20 per cent in rural areas.

While 66 per cent of the deaths were reported in urban areas, 34 per cent was registered in rural villages.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the tests carried out in the district, Vinay Chand urged the officials concerned to pay attention to it and intensify testing process, especially in the containment zones and active clusters.

Further, Vinay Chand told the officials to set up an urban primary health centre in each ward and recruit two doctors, required staff and make the necessary medicines accessible for the patients. He exhorted the officials to upload patients' details on the App, those who tested positive, contact cases and those availing home isolation.

Later, he held a meeting with the oxygen suppliers and expressed dissatisfaction over the supply. The District Collector warned of stringent action if oxygen was not supplied to the hospitals within 48 hours.

The Collector directed the officials to form a committee to monitor the staff attendance and their performance at work. GVMC Commissioner G Srijana, VMRDA Additional Commissioner Manjir, KGH Superintendent P V Sudhakar, District Medical Officer in-charge Vijayalakshmi and VIMS Director K Satya Vara Prasad participated in the meeting.