Covid-19: State issues directives to get more beds, ventilators

In two separate advisories issued on Saturday, the state public health department has asked the private hospitals to provide maximum beds with isolation wards and

In two separate advisories issued on Saturday, the state public health department has asked the private hospitals to provide maximum beds with isolation wards and ventilators as part of their exigency plan. The local administration has been asked to prepare tehsil-wise lists of such hospitals with the number of beds and ventilators that can be made available.

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The advisories were issued under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, that was recently invoked by the state government to deal with the outbreak. The health department has also directed all the government-run and municipal hospitals to mobilise additional resources, including doctors, nurses, and para-medical staff and provide essential training. They have also been directed to postpone all non-essential surgeries and cancel leaves of staff.

In another advisory, the health department said, “Public hospitals have been directed to create isolation facilities in every hospital; mobilise additional resources; procure sufficient ventilators and oxygen masks; discharge stable patients; restrict admission of new patients, and strictly reduce the number of patient attendants to one.”

Public hospitals have also been asked to provide free treatment to medical personnel who get infected while treating a patient.

The advisory further states, “All pneumonia patients should be tested for coronavirus. All eateries and shops in the vicinity of the hospitals should be shut. Patients should also be advised not to come for routine visits to the OPD if can be avoided. Patients exhibiting flu-like symptoms should be treated separately in OPDs. Pharmacy counters may be increased and queue management system to be followed by engaging Indian Red Cross and National Disaster Response Force volunteers.”