Raipur, 02 May 2021. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is continuously monitoring the COVID situation in the state and regularly reviewing the arrangements to deal with the same. Government and administration are making consolidated efforts to take every necessary measure and make every required arrangement in the state for prevention and control of COVID-19.
As of May 1, a total of 72 lakh 6 thousand 500 tests have been conducted in the state, after which total 7 lakh 28 thousand 700 COVID cases were reported. Presently, 6 lakh 1 thousand 161 of these patients have been cured, while one lakh 18 thousand 958 cases are currently active. Necessary steps are being taken to expand the facilities of COVID screening, treatment and vaccination in the state . Chief Minister Mr. Baghel has assured that there would be no shortage of funds for COVID prevention, control and relief, as well as for the treatment of COVID patients. A large number of samples are being tested every day and so far, 2 lakh 50 thousand 888 samples have been tested per 10 lakh population in the state.
Chhattisgarh is one of the few states in the country, where maximum number of people are being tested per 10 lakh population. Consistent efforts are being made to further expand the testing capacity, especially RTPCR and True-Nat Testing capacity in the state. Daily average tests have increased to 49 thousand 249 in the month of April. In Chhattisgarh, 2 lakh 50 thousand 888 tests are being done per 10 lakh population, whereas at the national level, 2 lakh 12 thousand 13 tests are being done per 10 lakh. While, 2069 tests are being done on a population of 10 lakh per day in Chhattisgarh, the national average is 1430 tests per 10 lakh population per day. Out of the total COVID tests conducted in the state in October 2020, 26% was RTPCR, which increased significantly to 40 percent in the month of April, 2021.
At present, 31 government labs and 5 private labs in the state have TruNat test facility, while 7 government labs and 5 private labs are equipped with the facility of RTPCR test. Rapid antigen test facilities are available up to the Primary Health Center level. Currently, 4 new government RTPCR labs are being set up in Mahasamund, Kanker, Korba and Koriya and the testing capacity of TruNat lab can be enhanced by providing additional machines in each district. At the end of the year 2020, an average of 4-5 contacts were tracked per COVID positive person, whereas at present 7 people per COVID positive person are being tracked and tested at present.
State Government has authorized six medical colleges, prepared 37 dedicated COVID hospitals including AIIMS Raipur, and has established total 154 COVID care centers in the state for treatment of COVID patients. Dedicated COVID Hospitals have been established in each and every district of the state. Total 5294 beds have been arranged in Government Dedicated COVID Hospitals and 16, 395 beds have been facilitated in the COVID care centers. Total number of ventilators available is 1151. Fifteen new oxygen generation plants have been established to increase the number of oxygen-equipped beds in the state. Besides, establishment of 9 additional plants is in process, which would be ready by the end of next week.
In the same sequence, a special teleconsultation hub has been established in Raipur Medical College. Through this teleconsultation hub, the Subject Experts of the college connect with all the government dedicated COVID hospitals every day via video conferencing and provide them the necessary guidance. If required, the experts would also do tele-rounds to monitor the patients. Till date, nearly 2.25 lakh people of the state have been provided home isolation assistance. And 90% of these patients have already recovered. Control rooms have also been established in each and every district to monitor the home-isolated patients.
COVID vaccination drive is gradually taking the shape of mass movement in Chhattisgarh. Vaccination work has commenced in the state in full swing. Chhattisgarh has the second best performance in the entire country in terms of vaccination of health workers. Chhattisgarh ranks fourth in the entire country for providing the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to the age group above 45 years. In the entire country, only Ladakh, Sikkim and Tripura are ahead of Chhattisgarh. If we talk about the age group of 60 years and above, Chhattisgarh ranks fifth in the country after Ladakh, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tripura.
Currently, an average of 2.13 lakh persons are being vaccinated daily in the state. In Chhattisgarh, the first dose of vaccination has been given to 88 percent healthcare workers, 94 percent front line workers and 73 percent beneficiaries in the age group above 45 years. Second dose has been given to 62 percent health care workers, 56 percent front line workers and 6 percent citizens in the age group above 45 years. Chhattisgarh has the 6th best performance in the country in terms of vaccinating the frontline workers. At present, vaccination is being conducted in a total of 4894 registered session sites in Chhattisgarh and 6823 trained vaccinators are available in the state.
Chief Minister Mr. Baghel has appealed to the heads of all social and business organizations in Chhattisgarh to ensure their active participation in the works of COVID prevention and control. He added that this battle against COVID crisis can be won only through collective and consistent efforts. Chief Minister Mr. Baghel said that we need to have a united stand against this COVID crisis. We can overcome this challenge by strictly following the COVID prevention rules and by motivating more and more people to get vaccinated.
Raipur : Strict compliance to the rules should be ensured to prevent spreading of COVID infection: Chief Minister Mr. Bhupesh Baghel
