Rims staffs in infecteion scare as two interns test positive

Ranchi: Health workers at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims), the state's lone Covid-19 tertiary care centre, are in a spot on whether to attend patients at OPDs after two female intern doctors and two admitted patients tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.
On duty interns, junior residents and senior faculties are apprehensive over providing patient care at OPDs and have demanded the healthcare facilities for Covid patients be segregated from those meant for people suffering with other ailments.
Dr Prabhat Kumar, co-ordinator of Rims’ Covid taskforce, said: “With two of our interns with travel history to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar testing positive, health workers are worried about their own safety. Moreover, it exposes patients visiting us to the virus. We request the state government to designate Rims as care centre for attending to only serious Covid patients and make arrangements for treating asymptomatic cases at the district hospital in Ranchi.”
Meanwhile, hospital sources said the two interns had met five senior doctors at Rims, including three from the Covid task force and the Dean and medical superintendent of the institute, before testing positive. Three office staff of the student section also came in contact with them.
“The two visited our office on June 1 to complete their joining formalities upon arrival from their homes. As both had travel history, they were asked to get tested for Covid. We all have been exposed to the risk of infection,” said an office staff of Rims’ student sectio.
The third floor of the Rims girl’s hostel was converted into mini containment zone on Tuesday night with over 60 intern doctors quarantined in their respective rooms and more than two dozen identified as primary and secondary contacts. Their swab samples were collected and sent for tests on Wednesday.
“We have traced 14 people as primary contact of the duo and 16 have been screened as secondary contacts. All the occupants of the third floor have been asked to remain indoors and they are being provided with food and other basic amenities. All kinds of duties of the doctors in quarantine have been reassigned to other male interns,” said Dr R K Pandey, Dean (student selfare), RIMS.
Meanwhile the junior resident who reside on second and first floor of the hostel are living under anxiety and fear of testing positive as they have shared a common water cooler and dining area among other amenities with other interns.
“I live on first floor of new girls hostel but I still have fear of getting positive as all occupants of new girls hostel use the same dining area and water coolers. If we also test positive we do not know who will be running the hospital,” said a junior resident of medicine department.