MVA Govt wakes up to scarcity of ambulances in rural areas, allocates funds to purchase them

As Covid-19 cases keep on mounting cases in western Maharashtra Govt opens RT-PCR lab in Satara  

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Pune: The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government has belatedly realized the dire scarcity of ambulances in the State’s rural hospitals and had released funds to the tune of Rs. 90 crore to purchase them. Minister for Public Health, Rajesh Tope stated that the State government would soon be procuring 500 ambulances and allotting them to hospitals in the State’s rural areas.   

Expressing concern over the alarming increase in fresh cases of Covid-19 in Satara and Kolhapur districts in western Maharashtra, Minister for Public Health Rajesh Tope on Sunday said that a RT-PCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) lab would be started in Satara from Monday.  The RT-PCR lab would help reduce the time taken for testing samples from Satara in Pune and generate results much faster, said Tope. 

“There is an urgent need to increase testing in both Satara and Kolhapur given the  surge in new cases. It takes two-three days for the sample results to come in these two districts. This must change and all results must come within 24 hours of testing a potential case. Once the lab in Satara becomes operational, the pace of detection and sample testing results will quicken as well,” said the Health Minister speaking in Karad in Satara. 

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Tope accompanied Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and took a review meeting of the worsening Covid-19 situation in the two districts. The Guardian Ministers, along with other elected representatives of Satara and Kolhapur, as well as senior officials of the two district administrations were present in the meet. 

Arguing that early identification of symptoms would help bring down the mortality rate in these two districts, Tope directed officials and medical authorities test at least 15 contacts of a Covid-19 positive case in order to break the chain of virus transmission. 

The Health Minister also warned private hospitals in these two districts of stern action if they refused to treat suspected Covid-19 cases.   “There have been a number of complaints from people in these districts of private hospitals not admitting individuals with virus-like symptoms or refusing to treat them. This is very wrong. The district administration has full authority to investigate such cases and bring errant hospital staff to book,” he said. 

Stating that 45 hospitals in Kolhapur and 27 more in Satara were covered under the ‘Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana’ (MJPJAY – governments health insurance scheme) meant to provide free treatment to Covid-19 patients, Tope further warned that any of these medical establishments found charging patients would likewise face strict action. 

Satara has been reporting an average surge of 200 cases a day since the past three weeks. In contrast, throughout June, the average single-day rise was barely 60. The surge was even lower in May when the district used to report only ten cases a day. The district presently has more than 2,700 active cases and has recorded more than 170 deaths. 

Kolhapur’s surge has been even more worrying: from an average 20 cases a day in the beginning of July, the district has since been reporting 500 new cases every day for the last fortnight. The district presently has more than 5,600 active cases while its death toll has exceeded 250.   

Meanwhile, five important towns in Beed district in Marathwada including Beed city, Parli and Ambejogai have decided to observe a rigid 10-day lockdown from August 12 in view of rising cases in the district. During this period, only milk supply and shops selling essentials will remain open, said authorities.