With 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country till now, Delhi government is setting up isolation wards in 25 hospitals, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Thursday. He added that 3.5 lakh N95 masks and over 8,000 separation kits for staff treating COVID-19 patients have been arranged.
Lok Nayak Hospital has set up 11 separate rooms and isolation wards to treat patients, the Minister said.
Isolation ward consisting of 14 beds has been set up at Bara Hindurao Hospital, said North Delhi Mayor Avtar Singh. Nodal officers have been deputed at Hindurao and Kasturba Hospital to report COVID-19 cases. A core team was formed to review the situation, he added.
“A total of 3,000 N95 masks have been distributed in the hospital. At zonal levels, Deputy Health Officers have been given the charge of nodal officers,” the Mayor said.
Meanwhile, front-line healthcare workers across both government and private hospitals are demanding adequate protective gears with the sudden escalation of COVID-19 cases.
“Hospitals are extremely crowded places with patients coming in with various kinds of infections. Now, with this extremely contagious virus we have to be careful. Hospitals should provide appropriate and adequate personal protective equipment at workplace without interruption in their supply and also make it compulsory to wear the same while on duty,” said the Resident Doctors’ Association of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in its letter to the administration.
Doctors and nurses have also demanded that hospitals should conduct awareness sessions for all staff to ensure that detection, isolation and treatment can be done with the least possible cross-infection.