Himachal: IGMC saw 260 staff testing positive for Covid since outbreak

The state police said that a total of 1,468 police personnel and 97 home guards have been infected by the coronavirus in Himachal so far. (Representational)

Nearly 260 doctors and other employees of IGMC Hospital in Shimla, the state’s premier hospital, have tested Covid positive since the start of the pandemic, its senior medical superintendent Dr Janak Raj said.

Raj, who himself recovered from the disease recently, said that around 60 doctors at the hospital have tested Covid positive so far. The remaining 200 cases comprise nurses, sanitation workers, security guards etc. “The role of hospital employees during the pandemic is similar to firefighters who are rescuing people trapped inside a burning building while themselves getting harmed,” he added.

Raj said that non-Covid health services in the hospital have continued during the pandemic and four lakh non-Covid outpatients treated.

Doctors have also carried out 17,000 surgeries during this time. He said that Covid infections in Himachal Pradesh are expected to reach their peak over the next seven-eight days. Dr Balbir Verma, incharge of the Covid ward at IGMC, said that oxygen level of symptomatic people must be monitored regularly, and if it dips by two-three percent or more following a six-minute walk, the patient is at risk of developing lung complications.

Meanwhile, an HP government spokesperson said that as of now, the state is not planning to make Covid test mandatory for people entering the state. On Thursday, the high court had asked the government to consider making it compulsory to curb the spread of the disease. The spokesperson, however, said that most of the Covid cases reported in Himachal in the last two months were due to laxity by people in the state, especially during social events such as weddings.

1,565 cops, home guards infected

The state police said that a total of 1,468 police personnel and 97 home guards have been infected by the coronavirus in Himachal so far.

Currently, there are 447 active cases among the police and 38 active cases among the home guards.

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