Gurugram health dept to focus on controlling hospitalisation as daily cases cross 200-mark

Gurugram: Amid the rise in Covid-19 cases in Gurugram, the district health department is focusing on keeping the number of hospitalised patients under control and monitoring the health of patients isolating at home, officials said on Wednesday

Gurugram: Amid the rise in Covid-19 cases in Gurugram, the district health department is focusing on keeping the number of hospitalised patients under control and monitoring the health of patients isolating at home, officials said on Wednesday.

Gurugram, India - April. 20, 2022: A health worker collects a swab sample for Covid-19 test, at UPHC Poly Clinic, in Sector 31, Gurugram, India, on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times) (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The district on Wednesday reported 225 fresh cases of Covid-19 and 152 recoveries, taking the tally of active cases to 941. The district also recorded a positivity rate of 6.64%.According to data from the health department, a similar increase in cases was reported during the latter half of December last year which marked the beginning of the third wave of the pandemic . On December 31, 2021, the number of daily cases crossed the 200-mark as the district recorded 280 cases.

According to data from the health department, of the total active cases, eight patients--most of them above 60 years old--are hospitalised. They reportedly tested positive while being treated for other diseases at the hospital, said officials.

“Cases are rising but our primary focus is on controlling hospitalisation in the district. Cases that are hospitalised right now are mostly incidental findings, that is, patients who were being treated for other diseases and tested positive for Covid-19. There has not been any instance of new patients being hospitalised,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurugram.

Officials of the health department are regularly calling and visiting patients in home isolation to check up on their health. Currently, over 940 patients are in home isolation.

They said that cases are mainly being reported from the New Gurugram area, especially areas under the jurisdiction of health centres in Chanderlok, Ghata, Tigra and Badshahpur, adding that most patients have a domestic travel history, or have attended large gatherings in the past few days or have contracted the virus while commuting to and from their workplaces.

“Our teams in all the health centres--urban and primary--are continuously monitoring patients in home isolation by calling them everyday and visiting them once a week. We are also sending 15 samples for genome sequencing regularly every fortnight. Further, we are planning to regularise district task force meetings so that strategies can be med depending on the situation,” added the chief medical officer.

Meanwhile, the pace of vaccination has been steady in the district this week, with over 7,000 doses (average) administered daily. A total of 2,035 precautionary or booster doses were administered in Gurugram on Wednesday, of which 715 were given to the 18-60 age group, 1,075 to the 60+ age group and the rest to health care workers and frontline workers.

On Wednesday, a total of 7,207 doses were administered, including 1,564 first doses and 3,608 second doses. Till now, over 5.13 million doses have been administered in Gurugram. As part of the Har Ghar Dastak (door-to-door) campaign, 8,807 houses were covered on Wednesday, wherein 261 first doses, 988 second doses and 331 precautionary doses were administered.