Division of patients: Way to curb spread of Covid-19

To reduce the transmission of the Sars-CoV-2 and bring down the number of cases, the state health department has come up with a new standard operating procedure

To reduce the transmission of the Sars-CoV-2 and bring down the number of cases, the state health department has come up with a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for treatment – suspected patients will be segregated into mild, moderate and severe categories and treated in facilities specifically equipped to handle those symptoms.

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The move comes after the department received several complaints that all suspected patients, irrespective of the nature of their symptoms, were kept only at a distance of 1ft from each other at quarantine centres. “Currently, all people, even with minor symptoms, rush to Kasturba Hospital for screening. This leads to crowding and adds to the pressure on the hospital. We have decided to bifurcate the crowd for safety,” said Dr Daksha Shah, deputy health officer, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). “The facilities must have separate areas for suspected and confirmed cases with preferably a separate entry and a safe exit. The suspect and confirmed cases must not be allowed to mix, under any circumstances,” reads the SOP, a copy of which is available with HT. Under the new directive, doctors from AYUSH will be roped in to man these centres.

According to the SOP, a patient will be categorised as mild, only if he/she has fever or cold. He will be taken to ‘Covid care centres’ in makeshift facilities such as lodges, stadiums, schools, hotels and hostels. The BMC has procured the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium in Worli, where they are in the process of setting up a 2,000-bed quarantine facility.

The second category, moderate, will include patients with pneumonia with no sign of severe diseases. Such patients will be kept in either in hospital or an extended part of hospitals which have essential medical equipment such as oxygen cylinders.

Pneumonia patients with low respiratory rate will be considered ‘severe’ and undergo treatment in dedicated Covid hospitals. They will be kept under observation in the intensive care units of the hospitals. “When the virus gets into the body through the nostrils, the person develops mild fever and cold. When it goes through the throat, the patient develops moderate symptoms, depending on the comorbid issues (other ailments). At the last stage, as the virus reaches the lung, it leads to development of a severe form of pneumonia. In 60-70% of the cases, patients get diagnosed in the first stage of infection,” said Dr Om Srivastava, city-based epidemiologist.