The positivity rate among healthcare professionals in Telangana is 18%.
As per the statistics announced by Union Health Ministry officials at a press conference held on Thursday, the positivity rate (percentage of people tested who are positive) of 18% is the highest when compared to other states. Healthcare professionals include doctors, nurses, para-medical staff, lab technicians, and patient care providers.
Around 80,000 to one lakh healthcare professionals in Telangana are involved in COVID-19 management for the past six months. Last week, senior officials of the State Health department said that around 2,000 healthcare workers contracted the infectious disease, and at least 14 had died.
“In Telangana, the positivity rate in healthcare workers is 18%. In Maharashtra, it is 16%, 14% in Delhi, 13% in Karnataka, 12% in Puducherry, and 11% in Punjab. These are the states where the positivity rate is on the higher side,” said secretary, Union Health Ministry, Rajesh Bhushan. Attention of the states and Union Territories to this issue was drawn.
Officials of the Telangana Health department said that they have asked doctors, nurses, and others in non-COVID government hospitals too, to maintain all precautions such as masks and face shields while attending patients.
Now, questions arise on how healthcare professionals are contracting the infectious disease. The source of infection could be hospitals they work at, or the locality they live in. The Union Health Ministry official said that they have issued Standard Operating Procedures on precautions to be taken, cross checking the preventive measures, and hospital infection control.
Mr. Bhushan said that they have suggested buddy system where in two doctors or nurses check on each other if the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is donned and doffed appropriately.
Gandhi
For the last six months, Gandhi Hospital remained the ground zero for COVID-19 treatment. It is the largest COVID care centre in the State, and a large number of patients of varying severity are admitted there.
Though doctors, nurses, para-medical staff, sanitation workers, patient care providers and others at Gandhi Hospital attend to only COVID patients, only 38 of them tested positive for coronavirus.
“There are around 2,500 doctors, nurses, ward boys and other staff here. As every patient is coronavirus positive, all of us take every possible precaution. No one is negligent about it. Observing precautions such as wearing a mask, and hair cover, have become a part of our lives. Even an electrician who walks into the hospital wears PPE,” said superintendent of the hospital Dr. M Raja Rao, who himself attends to COVID patients daily.