A total of 99 people at the Government Ayurveda Medical College Hospital, Thripunithura, including patients, staff, and bystanders, have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the past four days.
The hospital has been declared a containment zone and is closed to new patients. The first floor, which houses the general ward, is now a first-line treatment centre where patients and bystanders who tested positive are being treated, said Dr. Abdul Shukkoor M.M., hospital superintendent.
On Tuesday, a few COVID-19 patients at the hospital reportedly protested against the lack of nutritious food and facilities at the hospital. “Food is being provided by the municipality. The ward in which patients are being treated now has a capacity of 100 beds, and only around 70 patients are currently admitted. Facilities and food have been adequate,” he said. Around 20 staff members who had tested positive are recovering at home, he added.
A patient admitted at the hospital showed symptoms and subsequently tested positive on Saturday. The patient was shifted to another first-line treatment centre and contacts were traced, resulting in several more positive cases. “The source of infection would be difficult to determine, since bystanders and staff members regularly interact with people outside the hospital,” Dr. Shukkoor said.
The patients now being treated for COVID-19 at the hospital are being monitored by doctors from the hospital itself. The district telemedicine consultation service has also been made available to them.
