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One more hot spot in Ghaziabad, psychological counselling of patients begins
The officials of the Ghaziabad district administration said Saturday that one more Covid-19 hot spot was identified in the district after a government doctor was
The officials of the Ghaziabad district administration said Saturday that one more Covid-19 hot spot was identified in the district after a government doctor was tested positive for the disease. The officials said that high-rise tower, Skardi Green near NH-9, where the doctor resides, will be sealed by Saturday night.
With this, the number of hot spots in Ghaziabad is 14. The 13 other hot spots are Nandgram near mosque; KDP Grand Savana, Raj Nagar Extension; Savoir Park society, Mohan Nagar; B-77/G-5, Shalimar Garden Extension 2; Pasonda; Oxy Home highrise, Bhopra; Vasundhara sector-2B; Sector-6, Vaishali; Girnar society, Kaushambi; Naipura, Loni; Masuri; Khatu Shyam Colony, Duhai and Covid-19 Level 1 hospital, Muradnagar.
According to fficial figures, the 13 hot spots have a population of 74,208 persons.
“The officials are working at the tower where the doctor resided and it will be sealed by Saturday night. One other area near Sahibabad, from where a nurse who tested positive hailed, will not be declared a hot spot as she had stayed at a Delhi hospital where she worked and has been admitted there,” said Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate.
“She is working at a hospital in Delhi and her count is added to overall count of Delhi. Due to her duties, she did not visit her home, so the area will not become a hot spot. But we have taken up containment measures and sanitised the area. The building tower where the Ghaziabad doctor resided has also been sanitised and it will be a new hot spot area. The recommendation has been sent to the district magistrate,” Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer, Ghaziabad, said.
According to state officials, the number of hot spots in the state has gone up to 125 across 15 districts as against the previous tally of 104 when the intensive lockdown was announced on April 9.
“The hot spots have 14,1110 houses and a population of about 8.95 lakh. These hot spots have a total of 329 Covid-19 positive cases of a total of 448 cases as on Saturday evening. There are 55 other areas where the respective district magistrates are taking up measures. These areas have one or more cases. The Covid-19 cases in these 55 areas are 68. So, through the intensive lockdown of hot spots we are trying to contain the spread of the disease,” Awanish Awasthi, additional chief secretary (home), Uttar Pradesh, said.
Ghaziabad district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey on Saturday said he has roped in several government and private counsellors for psychological counselling of Covid-19 patients and their families.
“The counsellors will visit patients at hospitals and will also meet their families at home or in quarantine centres. They will take up counselling sessions with the patients. The team will also provide Information about Covid-19, address current problems of patients besides addressing issues relating to stress and anxiety, irritation and anger outburst, depression, impulsiveness and behaviour,” Pandey said.
For the purpose a team of five specialised doctors has been formed and it has already started the work.
“The counsellors will also take up individual and group sessions, identify those suffering from psychological issues and will also inform authorities about their needs. It is generally seen that Covid-19 patients are already fearful about the outbreak and need to be motivated to take up treatment and keep themselves well,” he said.
For patients in isolation wards and quarantine centres, the eighth battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Ghaziabad on Saturday provided 650 ‘dignity kits’ to the district health department.
“The kits include 20 items for both men and women. The kits include clothes and other daily use items which a person requires. The kits have been prepared and items stored in sealed buckets. They are meant for patients who are in isolation wards or in quarantine. The health department will distribute the kits to patients,” an official from NDRF said. The battalion is based at Govindpuram in Ghaziabad.
