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Andhra Pradesh to test all flyers for Covid-19, put them under home quarantine

VIJAYAWADA: With domestic flight services set to resume from May 25, the state government has decided to test all passengers for Covid-19 and send them on home quarantine. Chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy cleared this proposal made by officials during a review meeting on health initiatives at the CM’s camp office on Saturday.





Officials informed that samples will be collected from every single passenger when they arrive at airports after which they will be put in home quarantine. Later, on the basis of test results, those found negative will be relieved.

Further, the state government has also decided to fill all vacant posts in the health department, especially in the Covid-19 dedicated hospitals in districts. In the first phase, the government has decided to fill vacancies for doctors and nursing staff at hospitals in East and West Godavari districts, Visakhapatnam and Chittoor.

This would then be extended to Krishna, Guntur , Prakasam, Nellore and Ananthapur districts. Beds, ventilators and other infrastructure in hospitals will also be enhanced.

During the meeting, the chief minister reiterated his decision to launch an extensive campaign against Covid-19 and create awareness about the disease among people. He emphasised upon the need to dispel the stigma surrounding the virus.

A campaign titled ‘Hate the virus not the patient’ is likely to be launched by the state government once the lockdown is lifted. ‘Virus attack is not a crime’ is likely to be the slogan of said campaign.

Chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy asked officials to allot toll-free numbers 104, 14410 and 1902 for people to contact their nearest hospitals. The chief minister directed officials to accept Covid-related complaints on 104 (ambulance), 14410 (tele-medicine) and 1902 (feedback) toll-free numbers.

The CM further asked officials to upgrade the primary health centres (PHCs) across the state so that preliminary Covid-19 tests can be conducted in them. These PHCs would be supplemented with village clinics that will be set up by the state government.

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