Pune MC health staff conduct thermal scanning at a society on Sinhagad Road. (Express photo by Ashish Kale)

EVEN AS the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) struggles to reduce the mortality rate due to Covid-19, civic data indicates that around 25 per cent infected patients and 72 per cent of those who died are co-morbid, which has made the civic administration focus harder on this category.

The PMC has identified 3,085 co-morbid Covid-19 patients through door-to-door screening in the last two months. “A total of 3,57,270 co-morbid patients were screened from July 7 to August 26 by 1,420 civic staff. As many as 9,299 were referred for Covid-19 test, of which 3,085 have tested positive for the novel coronavirus,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Rubal Agarwal.

The civic staff has been screening people aged above 60, people suffering from co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma or other illness, and pregnant women. The team identifies a suspected case by noting down temperature measured by a thermal gun, oxygen saturation level through pulse oximeter, and symptoms of viral infection such as high body temperature, cough, cold, and breathlessness.

According to the PMC, 80,971 people suffer from diabetes, 96,252 have high blood pressure, 28,168 have diabetes as well as high blood pressure, 1,308 are asthma patients, and 78,618 suffering from illnesses.

In its presentation at the weekly review meeting of the Covid-19 situation till August 27, the civic administration informed that 1,547 out of 2,146 deaths in the city were that of co-morbid patients, which is 72.09 per cent.

The number of people suffering from co-morbidities is 21,892 out 89,009 Covid-19 patients, constituting 24.6 per cent.

The case fatality rate of the city was 2.41 per cent, but that of co-morbid patients was 7.07 per cent while it is 0.89 per cent for those without co-morbidities.

This week there was an addition of 1,114 beds for the treatment of critical Covid-19 patients in PMC limits, including 600 oxygen beds and 200 ICU beds at the jumbo facility in College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) ground. Another facility in Baner with 270 oxygen beds and 44 ICU beds in Baner was set up by the PMC under corporate social responsibility.

In addition, another 800-bed jumbo facility has been set up by the state government in PCMC limits, while a 220-bed facility has also been set up by the PCMC at Auto Cluster.

“There should be no shortage of beds in the city for treatment of Covid-19 patients,” said Pawar after the inauguration of dedicated Covid hospital each in PMC and PCMC limits.