CMO, 100+ doctors infected in Noida; state to add hospitals for Covid treatment

There is a manpower shortage at various hospitals with several health-care workers testing positive for Covid, said officials

As Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Gautam Budh Nagar, the chief medical officer (CMO) of the district, an additional CMO and several health department staff are among the latest to test positive for the viral infection, the district administration said on Tuesday.

Noida, India - January 11, 2022: A health worker being inoculated with a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine at the district hospital in Sector 30, Noida, India, on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. (Photo by Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times)

Health-care workers in various hospitals are also testing positive for the disease in increased numbers, leading to manpower shortages at various levels, officials said. Apart from nurses and support staff, doctors too are testing Covid-19 positive and are in isolation.

“The CMO and an ACMO have tested positive, but they are continuing to work from home isolation. Several healthcare workers are testing positive, but we have the necessary backup to handle patients. The good news is that most of the doctors who have tested positive are doing fine and are in home isolation,” said Suhas LY, district magistrate.

At least 45 doctors in Sharda, 30 in Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) and five in Noda District hospital have tested positive for Covid. Several other private hospitals also have doctors and nursing staff who have tested positive.

At GIMS, medical students have also tested Covid positive and are helping out inside the Covid wards. “Our staff who tested positive are making the rounds of Covid wards. We have several first year MBBS students who tested positive and had to attend an examination today while one of our Covid-positive doctors was an invigilator for the exam,” said brigadier (retired) Dr Rakesh Gupta, director, Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), Greater Noida.

Meanwhile, the state government on Tuesday released a list of hospitals that are being taken over as dedicated L1, L2 and L3 Covid facilities across the state.

In Gautam Budh Nagar, 1,960 beds at nine hospitals have been reserved for Covid and in Ghaziabad 1,064 beds at eight hospitals have been reserved for these patients. Sharda Hospital is the only L3 facility in Gautam Budh Nagar -- to treat critical Covid cases -- with 800 beds while Santosh medical college is the only L3 facility in Ghaziabad where 400 beds have been reserved for Covid cases.

In Gautam Budh Nagar 450 beds at GIMS, 240 beds at Noida Covid Hospital, 150 beds at the Child PGI and 200 beds at the ESIC hospital have been reserved as L2 facilities (centres for mildly critical cases). Additionally, 30 beds each at Community Health Centres (CHCs) in Bhangel, Bisrakh, Dadri and Jewar have been reserved as L1 facilities (to handle the mild cases).

In Ghaziabad, the L2 infrastructure includes 352 beds at Rama Medical College, 82 beds at ESIC hospital and 110 beds at DCH Sanjaynagar. Additionally, 30 beds each at CHCs in Loni, Muradnagar, Dasna and Modinagar have been reserved as L1 facilities.

Apart from these, various private hospitals have also been allowed to start Covid treatment facilities if they have the relevant infrastructure.