Coronavirus crisis: Health workers battle against death while dealing with COVID-19 patients

Aurangabad, Apr 28: A doctor working at a hospital for treating coronavirus patients in Maharashtra revealed that the medical staff faces tough tasks and challenges in collecting swab samples of the suspected patients.

It is reported that the process of swab sample collection of a person does not take more than 30 to 40 seconds, but it is a "high risk job", Dr Pushkar Dahiwal, who collects 80 to 100 swab samples in a day at the government hospital in Aurangabad, told reporters.

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"We work for three days and then remain self- quarantined for 14 days," he informed. During the six-hour duty, doctors have to keep wearing the personal protective equipment (PPE) and amidst the fast paced work, they do not even get a chance to drink water, he said.

"We need to finish the work in a short time to avoid contact with patients and also with those who come to give their swab samples," the doctor said. A 10 to 12 cm long stick is used to collect sample from a person's throat, while the stick used for collecting sample from nose is comparatively longer and thinner," he said.

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"Before the person tries to cough or sneeze, we need to finish sample collection. Being a dentist, I have the practice of handling the patient's mouth area," he added.

The nurse and other accompanying staff also need to stay alert as the swab samples are to be sealed immediately and kept in a proper storage facility, he said. "If the swab sample falls, it would be a problem. All these things have to be completed in a very short span of time. So, there is no scope for mistake," the doctor further said.