Meanwhile, the UT is already on the verge of falling short of critical care beds. Chandigarh's PGIMER had 200 beds, out of which 137 are occupied. (Representational)As Covid-19 cases have been rapidly increasing in Chandigarh, Governor of Punjab and UT Administrator V P Singh Badnore has ordered that at least 25 per cent of beds available at private hospitals and nursing homes be reserved for coronavirus patients. Officials said, the Health department will shortly issue orders pertaining to this.
The Covid-19 cases tally for Chandigarh has already touched the 2,400-mark and as per the administration’s contingency plan, space for 3,000 beds has been reserved. With cases consistently rising in UT, the need for more beds has become severe.
The decision to reserve at least 25 per cent of beds in private facilities for Covid-19 patients came after the Administrator’s meeting with councilors and MP. Officials said, the UT officials will meet the representatives of private hospitals soon. Till now, private hospitals were not roped in by the administration for creation of space for more beds, even as city’s private hotels were being used for the purpose.
In last week’s meeting, the need for more bed space was requisitioned as part of the contingency plan. It was stated that facilities in James Hotel have been requisitioned, where the Covid positive patients who can afford to pay the charges can stay and avail Covid Care Centre facilities on payment.
Besides this, the administration has made provisions for Covid-19 treatment at city’s Eden Hospital and 600 beds of Hostel Nos 8, 9 and 10 of Panjab University have also been made available for taking care of mild and asymptomatic patients.
Meanwhile, the UT is already on the verge of falling short of critical care beds. Chandigarh’s PGIMER had 200 beds, out of which 137 are occupied. It has also been directed to add 110 more bed space, although doctors say that manpower remains a challenge.
PLAZMA BANK
The UT Administrator directed PGIMER to create plazma bank and also study whether Covid patients are suffering any side affects after treatment and recovery.
PGIMER Director Dr Jagat Ram said they have 137 patients in Covid Ward at present, out of which 44 belong to Chandigarh, 55 to Punjab, 14 to Haryana, 11 to Himachal Pradesh and the remaining to the other states.
He also said that the hospital has tested 733 samples for Covid-19, out of which 102 were positive. Among the positive samples, 69 belong to Chandigarh.
GMCH Director Principal Dr BS Chavan said the hospital has conducted 238 tests, out of which 12 positive patients belong to Chandigarh. In the last two days, 78 people have been deemed recovered and were discharged from the hospital. The Chandigarh Health department has also been continuously conducting antigen test. Till now, as many as 20,458 testing have been done in the UT, out which 2,692 were rapid antigen tests.
VENDORS IN MARKETS TO BE TESTED
The Health department and the Muncipal Corporation have been directed to ensure that the vendors in markets are tested through rapid antigen method, so that they do not become a super spreader in the community. A plan is being chalked out to collect the samples of all the shopkeepers and vendors in the respective markets.
MC Commissioner has also been asked to form area committees, along with councilors, to help local administration in keeping a watch over different areas to ensure that residents follow hygienic practices like wearing masks and social distancing, among others, besides ramping up the IEC activities.
Councilors had suggested heavy penalty for not wearing masks, but no decision has been taken by the administration in this regard. Meanwhile, directions were given to Director Education to ensure that during online classes, lessons on hygienic practices are also given.