Amidst an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases that has raised concerns about the availability of hospital beds, medical experts have suggested to the State government to treat asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients in home isolation to reduce the burden on hospitals. The advice was given by several experts at a meeting convened by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in Bengaluru on Wednesday to deliberate on the guidelines and strategy to be implemented in COVID-19 management in the State.
As many as 1,272 new cases were reported on Wednesday in Karnataka — the highest single day count so far — taking the total to 16,514.
After the more than two-hour discussion, the experts, comprising Ashish Sathapathy, WHO’s Regional Team Leader, and Manipal Hospitals Group Head Sudarshan Ballal, among others, told presspersons that putting asymptomatic patients in home isolation instead of admitting them in COVID-19 hospitals was a standard norm followed by various countries.
They stated that nearly 60% of the COVID-19 patients who were admitted in the hospitals presently could have been kept under home isolation. Now they are spending their time in hospitals by working on laptops or watching their mobile phones, they said. They said that asymptomatic patients could be monitored remotely and advised the government to focus on treating people with serious conditions and comorbidities.
They asked the government to use telemedicine extensively to treat more patients and stressed the need for training more doctors on using tele-ICU.
They also suggested to the government that more manpower was required to work on field and for the contact tracing of patients.
They also suggested to the government to ensure an uninterrupted supply of oxygen and new medicines to hospitals to cater to patients.
The Chief Minister held a meeting of senior Ministers and bureaucrats on the issue later. A clear picture in this regard is expected to emerge by Thursday when he will hold one more round of meeting with Ministers and officials. New guidelines in this regard are expected to be issued either on Thursday or Friday.
Those who attended the meeting, included Sharan Patil, Chairman of Sparsh Group of Hospitals, K. Bhujang Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Netralaya, Prabhudev N., former Vice-Chancellor of Bengaluru University, Satish K.S. of Vikram Hospital, and Anjanappa, retired Director of KIMS, among other members of the task force and expert committee.