[ad_1]
Guwahati:
Assam Finance and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday introduced that the state is dealing with monetary stress as a result of big expenditure in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and can withdraw a bunch of freebies given to its sufferers.
He introduced the withdrawal of a few of the non-chargeable providers provided to COVID-19 sufferers like dropping them at their houses after discharge from hospitals and levied costs on devoted cabins. If anybody needs to get the results of RT-PCR exams in authorities hospitals inside 24 hours, then it will likely be charged at Rs 2,200 on the authorities hospitals.
Rs 6,000 should be paid by anybody from non-public hospitals needing plasma, Sarma advised a press convention.
“While fighting COVID-19 pandemic in Assam, our revenues or resources are slowly getting stressed … If it continues till October-November, then it will be difficult for us,” he stated.
To mitigate the monetary disaster, the minister introduced that any more the paying cabins which had been free for COVID-19 sufferers at authorities hospitals, might be chargeable from now. The medicines will, nevertheless, proceed to be free.
“We will also not be giving free vehicle drops to a patient after he or she is discharged. He or she has to arrange it. However, for inter district movement of patients after release, we will continue to arrange their transport,” he added.
Mr Sarma additionally requested sufferers to carry their very own meals whereas being admitted to authorities hospitals as arranging meals for all is likely to be tough in coming days. But the federal government will proceed to feed the BPL or poor COVID-19 sufferers.
“We made a calculation that till yesterday we had one lakh patients. If the patients are staying in government hospital for 10 days, that means it will be 10 lakh in headcount. If we are spending Rs 500 per day, then it becomes a Rs 500 crore affair. We have done 20 lakh tests and if we have spent Rs 1,000 approximately in each then it is a Rs 200 crore affair … The state government can definitely not handle such a huge burden. So, a time may come when we will be able to look after only the poor patients. However, today that situation has not come yet,” Mr Sarma stated.
Assam has recorded a complete of 1,01,367 coronavirus circumstances of which 26,646 have been reported from Guwahati metropolis alone. At current, 20,008 sufferers are nonetheless being handled.
On the COVID-19 situation within the state, Mr Sarma stated 433 sufferers are on oxygen assist whereas 126 are nonetheless within the ICU of various hospitals.
“One worrying thing is the rising consumption of oxygen. In the last month the average daily consumption of oxygen for COVID-19 patients was five metric tonnes, which has increased to 8.25 metric tonnes this month. If we consider the non-COVID-19 patients, then it is 25 metric tonnes,” he added.
The present manufacturing capability of oxygen cylinder producers is 37.86 metric tonnes each day and it will likely be an issue if extra variety of critical sufferers come within the close to future as the availability is getting steadily saturated, Mr Sarma stated.
“We have started talks with West Bengal and Bihar but bringing oxygen tankers everyday is not that easy. So the people have to be serious. They need to wear masks and maintain social distancing norms, but we are seeing that people are not following them,” he added.
Mr Sarma stated that 707 COVID-19 sufferers have acquired plasma remedy up to now, whereas 1,350 have been injected with Remdesivir, a broad spectrum anti-viral treatment.
Asked if the federal government is contemplating to re-impose lockdown in Assam to arrest the rising variety of circumstances, the minister stated: “We don’t support lockdown as it affects the livelihood of the people. But if oxygen supply ends and people do not follow the norms, then what will I do?”.
He stated the state was in a position to management the COVID-19 loss of life price at 0.24 per cent until round August 15, but it surely elevated thereafter and has reached to round 0.28, which remains to be the bottom within the nation.
A complete 289 COVID-19 sufferers have died in Assam.
The positivity price has additionally elevated to above six per cent from round 4.5 per cent on this interval, he added.
“We are seeing on average 2,500 cases every day. Our doubling rate has risen to 23 days from 15 days earlier. We have so far done 21,46,987 tests, which is 22,606 tests per million. We are at the fifth position in the country,” Mr Sarma stated.
Though Assam has the capability to check one lakh samples on a regular basis, specialists have instructed to do 35,000 exams, which is 0.1 per cent of the whole inhabitants, he added.
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink