NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, JULY 18
Day after praising the Gujarat government for handling coronavirus, a Central team held discussions with officials and doctors from across the state on COVID-19 treatment protocol on Saturday, an official said here.
The central team lauded Gujarat Govt's various exemplary initiatives like utilization of ‘Aarogya Setu App’ in reaching to the remotest rural areas, setting-up community covid care centres, Dhanvantari Raths and real-time monitoring through CM dashboard for #GujaratFightsCovid19 pic.twitter.com/oquETE1UbO
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) July 17, 2020
The team of AIIMS director Randeep Guleria, ICMR director-general Dr Balram Bhargav, NITI Aayog member Dr Vinod Paul and Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Arti Ahuja was in the state on a two-day visit to review the pandemic situation.
The Central Team which is on Gujarat visit to review COVID19 situation held a high-level meeting with CM, Dy CM & senior bureaucrats in which the CM expressed confidence that the State Govt will win the corona battle by forming a strategy based on the Central Team's suggestions. pic.twitter.com/11SLxUCs2S
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) July 17, 2020
“Today they held a meeting with collectors, municipal commissioners and district development officers across all the districts through video-conference,” said Health Commissioner J P Shivahare.
“Detailed presentations were made by the district administrations of Rajkot and Vadodara. The team members also held discussions with doctors from private and government sectors regarding treatment protocol,” he said.
Dr Guleria and other experts also provided guidance about the use of tocilizumab injection to treat COVID-19, he said.
“They said it should be administered only on the recommendation of doctors who can decide it on the basis of test indicators,” Shivahare said.
The injection would be made available to all the patients who need it, the state government has decided, he said, adding that Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel were monitoring its availability daily.
“Availability of the injection will increase, and it should be used rationally. The decision on who should be given the injection should be left to expert doctors,” he said.
The Central team had reviewed the situation in the worst-affected Ahmedabad and Surat districts on Friday and praised the state government’s efforts to contain the virus.
It left for Delhi after Saturday’s meeting.
