“Our health secretary did not sleep for nights together till all the three initial Covid-19 cases were identified and isolated. I started worrying for him and had to tell him strictly to try and get some sleep,” said state Health Minister K.K. Shailaja about principal secretary for health Dr Rajan Khobragade. “The fact that our health department is headed by such a committed officer gave all of us the confidence to take Covid-19 head on.”
Khobragade, one of the chief architects of the state’s palliative care policy, took charge last year. Thanks to Khobragade’s alertness, the state had a plan in place to tackle the disease the very day China confirmed the epidemic.
He led the team that set up isolation wards in all medical colleges, district and general hospitals. The state health department trained medical support teams and issued treatment protocols. He is now a member of the Union government’s Covid-19 task force.