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Ludhiana civil hospital’s first win! Zero patients in Covid ward
Earlier on January 21, when the first wave was tapering off, the hospital had reported that it had just one Covid patient left but the cases had subsequently gone up.
For the first time since the pandemic outbreak in March last year, no Covid patient was admitted to the civil hospital on Thursday.
Earlier on January 21, when the first wave was tapering off, the hospital had reported that it had just one Covid patient left but the cases had subsequently gone up.
By May, when the second wave was on a rampage in the city, the civil hospital, which can accommodate 250 patients, was bursting at the seams as patients from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were also coming here for treatment.
“The civil hospital now has just four black fungus patients and one patient suffering from post-Covid complications,” said nodal officer for Covid, Dr Hitinder Kaur.
She, however, added that the hospital is now preparing for the anticipated third wave.
“The drop in cases in the second wave was due to the lockdown. As markets are opening, people are out and about again. Many are still not following Covid-appropriate behaviour. This could be a potential trigger for the third wave. However, as a large chunk of the population has been vaccinated, we can hope to mitigate the third wave to an extent,” said Dr Kaur.
At Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMC&H), out of the 150 earmarked beds for Level- II patients, only five are currently occupied, while out of the 180 beds earmarked for Level- III patients, nine are occupied.
Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMC&H) meanwhile has no patients as of now, while SPS hospital and Mohan Dia Oswal Hospital have two patients each in the Level- II facilities.
Vaccine shortage yet again, no sessions today
Ludhiana: As residents rush to get themselves inoculated ahead of the anticipated third wave of Covid-19 that is expected to hit the country later this year, Ludhiana is reporting a vaccine shortage.
In the past 10 days, Ludhiana saw a dip in daily vaccination count on five occasions.
On July 13, just 3,778 people were inoculated, on July 14, 7,753 got the jab, on July 15, 2,467 received the first dose while on July 16 and 21, only 22,973 and 27,821 people could be vaccinated respectively.
The vaccination drive in the district had kicked off on January 16 and so far, 14,17,359 residents have been inoculated.
Meanwhile, residents are losing patience. Ruchi Sharma, a city resident who was enquiring about vaccine availability at the civil surgeon’s office on Thursday, said, “I came to know that the centre was out of vaccine only I reached here. I will wait for a couple of days. If the situation doesn’t change, I will go to a private hospital.”
Deepa Prasher, a resident of Civil Lines, said, “Mega vaccination camps are a good initiative, but at the same time, officials should ensure that there is enough stock available at other centres too,” said Prasher.
District immunisation officer Dr Puneet Juneja said no public sessions for Covaxin and Covishield will be held on Friday. He, however, said the department has received some stock for the inoculation of international travellers.
