Andhra Pradesh to take over private hospitals to tackle Covid-19

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to take over facilities and manpower at private hospitals by invoking powers under the Disaster Management Act to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in an order issued on Sunday directed all private hospitals in the state “to place their premises with all available resources and manpower” at the disposal of district collectors as and when required.

On Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh reported 17 new cases. Covid-19 positive cases, taking the southern state’s total to 40.

Airing concerns over the growing number of positive cases, the Andhra government said: “There is an imminent need of quick expansion of medical facilities in the state for isolation rooms, isolation beds, ventilators, testing labs, sanitised mortuaries, other medical facilities, infrastructure, material, manpower including doctors, nurses, other medical and nonmedical staff. Therefore, private medical college-attached hospitals and other private hospitals existing in the state are required for their services to be used for Covid treatment.”


The government, while acknowledging possible community transmission, said: “Covid-19 incidence is fast transmitting form foreign travellers to their primary contacts and further to the community at large in many parts of the state.”Construing the situation as a “nation-wide public health emergency”, the state government said the situation required experts and consultants in the field of disasters to provide advice and assistance for rescue and relief. It is the government’s responsibility to ensure that the private sector carries out its “activities in an equitable and non-discriminatory manner”, it said.