Gujarat government has decided to provide 25,000 N95 masks to private doctors in the state so that they can provide better healthcare facilities to people, said Secretary to the Chief Minister Ashwini Kumar on Friday while addressing mediapersons on various decisions taken by the state government against COVID-19 outbreak. Kumar said that the Indian Medical Association had requested the state government to provide the N95 masks free of cost to the private doctors so that they can provide effective healthcare services to the people. “So, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has ordered to provide 25,000 N95 masks free of cost to the president of the Indian Medical Association, Monaben Desai, and she will provide the same to the private doctors at every level of the state,” said Kumar. Kumar said that while the state government is providing necessary protective equipment to doctors serving government hospitals, the latest decision of giving N95 masks to private doctors will strengthen the fight against the virus. Regarding the state government’s challenge to provide ration to 66 lakh priority households (PHH) holding cards under the National Food Security Act during the ongoing nationwide lockdwon, Kumar said that within 2.5 days, 31 lakh PHH have been provided wheat, rice, dal, sugar and salt. The remaining families will also be covered shortly and if necessary the process will be extended for a couple of more days to ensure that none of the 66 lakh families are left from getting the benefit, said Kumar. He also said that at present more than 10,000 people are living in shelter homes created by the state government.
