Around 80% cases in Ramganj are asymptomatic, says government

Srikanta Tripathy | TNN | Updated: Apr 14, 2020, 07:13 IST

Police personnel stand guard at Ajmeri Gate in city on Monday

JAIPUR: About 70-80% of positive cases coming out of Old City area including Ramganj are in the asymptomatic category, which means less burden on critical care facilities in the hospitals, lower rate of fatality, and containing the spread of infection, said Ajitabh Sharma, principal secretary of energy department and nodal officer for Jaipur city.
He said the priority is to keep the mortality rate as low as possible and to achieve that, they have been going aggressive on sample testing and segregating the asymptomatic cases also from the community before they spread the infection unknowingly among hundreds of people.
“Against our target of 2,000 people, we have sample tested 3,500 in four days. Now, we have expanded the target by another 10,000 in the city, including 5,000 in the Ramganj area where the asymptomatic cases are as high as 70-80%,” Sharma told TOI.
The percentage of positive cases in comparison to sample tests is about 9% in Ramganj, which is higher than normal. That is why the administration has expanded sample testing beyond the hotspot pockets and formed 30 clusters in the locality.
“It is mathematically random testing. If we are doing 30 houses, we ensure there is no gap. It takes time because we don’t want to break the chain by leaving out a single house for some reason or the other. We have completed 15 clusters as on Monday,” added Sharma.
With regard to the sample testing in the outer city areas, he said the current practice is that if somebody falls ill and tests positive, the treatment is provided and the locality is sealed and screened. “But, we want to be proactive and random test people in the outer city as well, in localities where people live in congested and slum areas. The 5,000 sample testing target also includes super-spreaders, the essential service providers in these areas,” added Sharma.
The Covid-19 mortality rate in Rajasthan is one of the lowest in the country but senior citizens are in the high risk zone. “We will launch a mobile app for senior citizens. Once they fill in the symptoms in the app, they can have some idea if there is any possibility of infection. If there is a doubt, our dedicated team will reach them,” said Sharma.
So far, the government has identified 80 hospitals in the city having bed capacity of 9,500, while another 5,000 quarantine rooms or beds have been arranged for any exigencies.
“We have decided to use SMS Hospital, RUHS, Mahatma Gandhi Hospital or JNU Hospital for the senior citizens and patients with co-morbidity conditions. This is again to ensure that nobody succumbs to the virus. In case of mild or asymptomatic cases, they don’t need critical care. As of now, the use of ventilators is minuscule and that reflects in the lower fatality ratio in the state,” said Sharma.