Puducherry: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Saturday warned the government would take over private medical colleges in the union territory if they did not cooperate by admitting COVID-19 patients in their hospitals.
Government hospitals were doing their best to ensure that coronavirus patients were taken care of, he said at a virtual press conference.
"We need the cooperation of seven private medical colleges as the number of infections has been on the rise now," he added.
The chief minister said the management of these colleges had accepted at one stage the plea of the government to make their hospitals available for admission of COVID-19 patients.
"But there are still some colleges who do not pay heed to the government's repeated pleas to make the facilities in the colleges and hospitals available for patients referred by the government," he added.
"If these colleges played a hide-and-seek game in honoring their commitment, the government would not hesitate to take over the institutions and there would be no other option. This measure would be in the larger interest of saving patients," the Chief Minister said.
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Expressing concern over the rise in the number of cases in Puducherry in the last few days, Narayanasamy said the infected patients had to be given immediate treatment.
The government had earmarked Rs 1.2 crore from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund and Covid-19 fund to purchase around 50,000 RTPCR equipment to test swabs.
He said presently government hospitals in Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe had to rely on government facilities in neighboring states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala for testing, adding it took three days to a week to get the results.
The chief minister further said the government had decided to set up testing facilities in hospitals in these three regions to speed up the process.
He criticized the "negligence and careless attitude of people in adhering to safety norms" and said it had resulted in the rise in coronavirus cases.
Narayanasamy said he had received reports that people gathered in large numbers at temples and social functions and funerals which resulted in people contracting the virus and spreading the infection.
"The State Disaster Management Authority would have its meeting on Wednesday next. If we find that there is continued negligence and careless attitude on the part of the people, traders, youth, and women in following safety norms, the government will be forced to reintroduce stringent measures and total lockdown permitting only essential services," he added.
Narayanasamy said the life of people was more important and revenue mobilization is secondary, adding "unless we take stringent measures the number of coronavirus cases would go up faster... I think the trend of increase would continue till September."
He said seven medical teams had been formed to go to different areas to monitor home quarantined patients.
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