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9 months on, Covid warriors fight toughest battle in HP
Himachal has seen a spike in cases since November and has one of the highest positivity rates in the country at 8.9%
Nine months since the Covid-19 outbreak, health workers are fighting their toughest battle against coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh that has one the highest positivity rates at 8.9% as against the national average of 3.7%. So far, four healthcare workers have died and more than 1,000 have tested positive for Covid-19 in the state.
The state has seen 24,984 Covid-19 cases since November that is more than the combined tally between March and October with the three districts of Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti and Mandi reporting a positivity rate of above 13%, while Shimla has a positivity rate of 12.5% and Solan 9.4%. A total of 757 people died of the contagion in the state with the death rate of 1.6%. Shimla accounts for 195 of the deaths, Kangra 150 and Mandi 98.
State has reported over 47,000 positive cases
In the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital alone, 252 health workers have tested positive. The hospital has treated more than 1,200 Covid patients so far, while 200 of them who were admitted in a critical condition have died of the infection.
Till December 11, the state recorded 47,877 Covid-19 infections. There are 7,384 active cases and 39,681 people have recovered. The recovery rate has increased to 82%.
“This is a harrowing time for us but then it’s our duty to save lives,” says Dr Lakshita, an intern who goes by one name. “We see two to three Covid deaths daily in the isolation ward. My mother, who is a teacher, was worried when I was quarantined but later reconciled to the situation,” says the young doctor, who tested positive last month and is now back to work with a renewed resolve at IGMC.
Naresh Khaslaik, 37, a class four employee at the hospital, also contracted the infection during the course of work. He was deputed to carry blood samples of infected patients and is now undergoing treatment in the hospital’s Covid block. “I may have caught it while carrying samples from the ward to the laboratory for testing. I was wearing gloves and a mask but don’t have a PPE (personal protective equipment) kit,” he says.
His immediate concern is the well-being of his family. “I have no symptoms but am worried about my wife, son and daughter,” he says. His wife is an anganwadi worker. “I’ll return to work as soon as I’m out of quarantine. I’m a Covid warrior and the war is still on,” Khaslaik says.
IGMC biggest covid care centre in north
Being a tertiary care hospital, IGMC gets Covid patients from outside Shimla, too. “The hospital has 100 beds for Covid patients and was full to capacity last month,” says medical superintendent Dr Janak Raj, 42. The hospital has now created a facility to accommodate another 100 patients, while work is underway on a prefabricated Covid hospital that will be ready by this month-end.
Dr Raj, who is a neurosurgeon, also underwent treatment for Covid after testing positive in early November. “I spent 10 days in the Covid care ward and got an opportunity to understand the problems of patients and nurses. I’ve tried to rectify things. It’s my duty to keep the staff’s morale up.”
Days before Dr Raj was hospitalised, he performed a rare surgery on a 60-year-old woman. “It was a life-threatening condition and we had to conduct an emergency operation that took six hours,” he says, adding that despite the risk, his team has done 12 surgeries, three of them rare ones, during the pandemic.
Nurse hasn’t been home in seven months
The staff on Covid duty stays at the Circuit House near Hotel Peterhoff, 4km from the hospital. “Corona duties are stressful. We feel exhausted and home sick at times but the call of duty keeps us going. I’ve not been home for seven months,” says Meenal Kumari, 35, a nurse at the IGMC’s isolation ward. She belongs to Ghumarwin in Bilaspur and adds, “The saving grace is that I stay in the nurse’s hostel and don’t have to worry about being a risk to my family.”
Himachal logs 651 Covid cases, 20 fatalities
Himachal Pradesh recorded 651 fresh Covid-19 cases on Friday, taking the state’s tally to 48,354 while the death toll mounted to 783 as twenty more patients succumbed to the contagion.
Of the new cases, 166 were reported in Mandi, 92 in Shimla, 77 in Kangra, 61 in Chamba, 46 in Solan, 45 in Bilaspur, 37 in Kullu, 36 in Hamirpur, 35 in Sirmaur, 25 in Kinnaur, 22 in Una, and nine in Lahul-Spiti.
Among the 20 deaths, ten occurred in Shimla district alone. Indira Gandhi Medical College (Shimla) medical superintendent Dr Janak Raj said that 10 people have died at the IGMC. The deceased were in the age group of 30 to 91. One of the deceased was a 30-year-old pregnant woman. Most patients suffered from acute respiratory distress caused by Covid-19.
There are 7,725 active cases in the state while 39,801 people have recovered. As many as 770 recoveries were reported on Friday. The recovery rate has increased to 82%.
Shimla remains the worst-hit district with 8,986 cases, followed by Mandi at 8,062 and Kangra at 6,556 cases. Solan has recorded 5,704 cases, Kullu 4,037, Sirmaur 2,854, Bilaspur 2,531, Chamba 2,435, Hamirpur 2,428, Una 2,425, Kinnaur 1,180, and Lahaul-Spiti 1,156 cases.
