First plasma bank for COVID-19 launched in Telangana

Telangana's first plasma bank for COVID-19, an initiative by the Rotary Club in Hyderabad, was launched by G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs on Sunday.

Speaking at the event, Reddy thanked the Rotary Club and said that plasma therapy was the only hope until a vaccine was introduced.

"Among the two Telugu states, the first plasma bank has been set up today in Hyderabad. Till now, there is no vaccine for the coronavirus, hence, every person must safeguard themselves from the virus. The state has taken several measures to fight the virus, and this plasma bank is one of them," he said.

He said people had to be aware of this measure and recovered patients must come forward to donate antibodies that they possess after defeating the virus.

Speaking to the media after the inauguration, the Minister of State asked people to be careful and said that carelessness could cost people their lives

"Today is a significant day as a record number of 10,25,000 tests were conducted on a single day. It is good but we must do better. The Prime Minister has been constantly interacting with CMs and all the stakeholders to contain the spread of the virus in the country. The spread of the virus has been effectively managed in Delhi and it is standing tall as a model state in managing the virus spread. Today it has 20,000 empty beds," Reddy added.

He said that the state had to improve its testing as it was lagging behind the rest of the country, standing at the seventh position from the bottom.

"The Central Government is helping Telangana State in every possible way. We have so far supplied 14 lakh N-95 masks, 2, 35,000 PPE Kits, 42, 50,000 HCQ tablets, and 1,400 ventilators to the state. If needed, we will extend more help. Central experts' teams visited the Telangana State thrice and have been continuously monitoring the situation and giving necessary suggestions to the state government," the statement further quoted Reddy.

( With inputs from ANI )