With five more people succumbing to Covid-19, the toll in Mohali district rose to 57 on Monday.
As many as 37 people have died due to the virus in the past 15 days.
Meanwhile, with 117 people testing positive in the past 24 hours, the number of confirmed cases went up to 2,919, of which 1,247 are active.
Those who died were suffering from diabetes and hypertension, said civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh. They include four men — 65-year-old from Baltana, 56-year-old from Dera Bassi, 34-year-old from Sector 68 and 30-year-old from Mataur — besides a Mauli Baidwan woman, aged 70.
Also, with 106 patients being discharged on Monday, the number of those cured reached 1,515.
No elective surgeries in L3 hospitals
Deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan on Monday ordered that no elective surgeries, such as joint replacements, cataract extractions and ligament repairs, are to be undertaken in Level 3 hospitals (that provide tertiary healthcare services by advanced specialists) in the next fortnight.
“Rapid surge in Covid-19 cases mandates escalating bed strength in tertiary care hospitals, so it has been decided that surgeries that don’t require an immediate medical procedure can be scheduled to be performed later,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Rapid surge in Covid-19 cases mandates escalating bed strength in tertiary care hospitals, so it has been decided that surgeries that don’t require an immediate medical procedure can be scheduled to be performed later,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The administration has also added 200 beds at the Covid Care Centre in Gian Sagar Hospital and is setting up two more testing centres at Nayagaon and Sohana in order to ease the pressure on the civil hospital.
Pvt hospitals to provide home care
Also, private hospitals in the district would extend medical care to Covid-19 patients in home isolation, said Dayalan.
A large number of patients have mild or no symptoms, and do not require hospitalisation, said the DC, adding that “rolling out home care packages will help reduce avoidable overcrowding at hospitals”.
While Fortis and Max Healthcare have offered to extend home care packages to patients with mild symptoms, other hospitals are also exploring the possibility, he said.
Patients will get to talk to the doctors on video chat, and nurses and paramedics would also be available for video consultation to ensure constant monitoring. The patients will also be provided with medicine and medical care kits that will help to detect if their condition deteriorates.