AMARAVATI: "The Andhra Pradesh Government will spend an additional Rs 1,000 crore for providing better facilities to COVID-19 patients and an additional 54 hospitals would be set up across the state for the treatment of patients," Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced.

The chief minister held a review meeting at his camp office in Tadepalli on Friday over the current COVID-19 situation in the state.

Speaking in the review meeting, the CM said that the state government is providing critical care facilities in 138 hospitals in AP.

"The state government is working towards providing critical care facilities at five more hospitals at the state level, of which three hospitals have already been made available," said YS Jagan.

He said that an additional 2,380 beds would be made available for critical care treatment.

Hospitals will spend the allotted Rs 1,000 crore on infrastructure, paramedical staff, doctor recruitment and health staff appointments.

Apart from this, the state government is spending about Rs 6.5 crore a day on COVID-19 tests and quarantine facilities, said AP CM.

YS Jagan also focused on the fall in lemon prices in the state. He has issued key directives to state officials to take all measures to avoid any loss to lemon farmers.

The chief minister ordered the authorities concerned to immediately purchase all the lemon crop yield from farmers, and also to increase the minimum support price for it.

Acting upon the instructions of the CM, Agriculture Minister Kannababu told mediapersons that they would start procuring lemon crop from tomorrow, Saturday.