Omicron: Gurugram hospitals asked to give bed details in 48 hours

In the wake of rising concerns over Omicron, the new Covid variant, the district health department on Wednesday asked private and government hospitals to update details of bed availability within 48 hours, as part of preparations to tackle any spread of the pandemic, officials said

In the wake of rising concerns over Omicron, the new Covid variant, the district health department on Wednesday asked private and government hospitals to update details of bed availability within 48 hours, as part of preparations to tackle any spread of the pandemic, officials said.

According to the health department, separate testing camps have been set up for international travellers outside the Civil Hospital and several private hospitals across the district. (HT Archive)

The department also asked the private hospitals to send it a list of guest houses where their international patients stay so that they can be tracked.

“Serious efforts are being made by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19 infection so that the situation does not become uncontrollable and better health facilities can be provided to the people. Our main focus is on international travellers from the 12-high risk countries and we are following all guidelines for testing and quarantine issued by the Centre. Such travellers will be tested for Covid-19 on arrival, and they will be kept under quarantine for 14 days,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer (CMO) of Gurugram, after a meeting with the representatives of various hospitals on Wednesday.

According to the health department, separate testing camps have been set up for international travellers outside the Civil Hospital, the only government hospital that is treating Covid patients in the district, and several private hospitals across the district, as many foreign nationals visit Gurugram every week for medical treatment.

According to data from the district health department, there are around 85 private hospitals in the district.

The CMO further said that in the coming days, a meeting will also be held with the big hotel operators and multi-national companies in the district to make them aware about the compliance of the prescribed guidelines.

Yadav has appealed to the food vendors that while hiring any person in their organisations, they should ensure that the person has taken both doses of Covid-19 vaccine. He also asked the private hospitals to ensure that all their staff are fully vaccinated.

During the meeting, the CMO directed the private hospitals to paste a citizen charter at their premises giving information on citizens’ rights, grievance redressal, testing rate, Covid treatment and referral mechanism, among others.

On Wednesday, 3,575 Covid tests were conducted in Gurugram, the officials said, adding that the district has been conducting 3,000-3,500 daily tests for the past one month.

Meanwhile, the district on Wednesday reported 11 fresh Covid-19 cases while eight people recovered from the infection, according to the state government data. There are 67 active cases in the district, of which 63 are in home isolation and four are hospitalised, the officials said.

So far, the district has reported a total of 181,709 Covid-19 cases, including 925 deaths.