The Andhra Pradesh government will bring in an Ordinance for voting on the account budget for the three-month period up to June 30 for all Departmental expenses in wake of the Covid-19 crisis.

A decision to this effect was taken by the State Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in Amaravati on Friday, as convening of Assembly is not possible to coronavirus pandemic.

According to Perni Venkataramaiah, Minister for I&PR, the Cabinet has approved the Ordinance for withdrawal of money to meet the State’s expenses for the next three months, and once it gets the Governor’s nod, the details would be revealed.

As it is not possible to convene the Budget session in wake of the pandemic, the government is going for an Ordinance.

High-level committee

The Cabinet discussed extensively on the medical facilities and measures for strengthening the medi-care system.

A high-level committee has been set up with five ministers, 10 senior IAS officers and four officials from the CMO to coordinate with the district-level teams of ministers and officers, said Venkataramaiah.

So far, 12 positive cases have been reported in the State and 28,000 foreign returnees identified. These individuals and their contacts are under constant vigil.

Four hospitals — one each at Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Nellore — are now converted into dedicated super -pecialty Covid-19 hospitals while 100-bed isolation centres are in place at the constituency level. In addition, 200-bed isolation centres have been set up at district level.

About 400 ventilators are in place and PPEs (Personal Protection Equipment)/surgical masks for patient attendants, along with N95 masks, are available in required numbers. An order has been placed for more equipment which will be delivered in a couple of days, according to a release.

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