AIIMS Delhi faces staff shortage, stops contact tracing of healthcare workers exposed to Covid-19
The Covid-19 task force at AIIMS Delhi on Thursday also noted that the need for manpower has increased multi-fold, in view of the rising number of Covid-19 patients and the opening of multiple coronavirus disease facilities in the hospital.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi informed on Thursday that the hospital is discontinuing the practice of risk assessment and contact tracing of healthcare workers exposed to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the wake of insufficient resources and shortages of staff to do so amid the pandemic, according to a notice shared by news agency ANI. Moreover, the quarantine of asymptomatic contacts should be discontinued as well, the hospital informed, adding that from now onwards, only the symptomatic healthcare workers should be tested and only those testing positives are to be isolated and managed as per clinical protocols.
India recorded the world's highest daily tally of 314,835 coronavirus infections on Thursday, with the second wave of the pandemic crushing its weak health infrastructure. In Delhi alone, where hospitals are running out of medical oxygen supplies, the daily rise was over 26,000. As many as 306 people were reported to have died of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours in the national capital and overburdened healthcare resources are forcing people to turn to makeshift facilities.
AIIMS Delhi held a Covid-19 review meet at 8:30am on Thursday, under the chairmanship of its director Randeep Guleria, in which the new directives for healthcare workers were issued, as per the notice shared by ANI. "In view of the current situation of Covid-19 leading to insufficient resources for contact tracing, and shortages of staff, the risk assessment and contact tracing of exposed HCW and quarantine of asymptomatic contacts should be discontinued. Only the symptomatic HCW should be tested and only those testing positives be isolated and managed as per the clinical condition," the notice reads.
The notice further details prerequisites for the healthcare workers who test positive to rejoin work, once their conditions improve. "HCW who test positive may be able to join work after 10 days' period from the onset of symptoms, provided that they are afebrile for at least the last 24 hours without the use of antipyretics and symptoms (e.g. cough, shortness of breath) have improved. Those who are asymptomatic may join work 10 days from the date of the first positive test," the letter adds.
The Covid-19 task force at AIIMS Delhi on Thursday also requested colleagues from other departments to provide 80% of the resident doctors and faculty members for the coronavirus disease management, in view of the rising number of Covid-19 patients and the opening of multiple Covid-19 facilities in the hospital, noting that the need for manpower has increased multi-fold.