PremiumNEW DELHI: Union health ministry on Friday asked all central ministries to issue instructions to the hospitals under their control or their public sector units (PSUs) to set-up exclusive dedicated hospital wards or separate blocks within the hospitals for covid care. The move comes in the backdrop of exponential surge in daily covid-19 cases straining the public and private healthcare infrastructure in the country.
In a letter written to the central ministries, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the present situation of sudden surge in the covid-19 cases across the country calls for similar supportive action as last year.
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The health secretary said that these hospitals or blocks should have separate entry and exit points for the management of covid-19 cases, to provide treatment services including specialised care for the confirmed covid-19 cases.
Additionally, these dedicated hospital wards or blocks have to be equipped to provide all supportive and ancillary services including oxygen supported beds, ICU beds, ventilators and specialised critical care units (wherever available), laboratory services, imaging services, kitchen, laundry, etc., along with dedicated health work force. The health ministry pointed out that many states and Union territories (UTs) across the country have been reporting a surge since the past few weeks in covid cases and deaths related to the virus.
In order for the public to avail of the required treatment at these hospital wards/blocks, the central ministries have also been advised that details of such dedicated hospital wards/blocks are provided to the public, duly coordinating with the respective health departments of states/UTs and the district health administration of the states/districts wherever these hospitals are located.
It has been suggested that a nodal officer may be nominated from the ministry/department for necessary coordination with the respective states/UTs for this purpose, and that their contact details be shared with the respective states/UTs, as well as the Union health ministry, the government said.
India’s daily new cases continue to rise with 2,17,353 new cases being registered in the last 24 hours.
Ten states including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have shown a rise in daily new covid case count. Of the new cases, 79.10% were reported from these 10 states, according to Union health ministry data.
Maharashtra has reported the highest daily new cases at 61,695, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 22,339, while Delhi reported 16,699 new cases, the data shows.
India’s total active caseload has reached 15,69,743. It now comprises 10.98% of the country's total positive cases. A net incline of 97,866 cases recorded from the total active caseload in the last 24 hours, the government said.
Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala cumulatively account for 65.86% of India’s total active cases. Maharashtra alone accounts for 39.60% of the country's total active caseload.
With rising cases, India’s National Recovery Rate has slipped to 87.80% after rising to 99% at a time. Further, 1,185 deaths were also reported in the last 24 hours. Ten states account for 85.40% of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties (349), followed by Chhattisgarh with 135 daily deaths, shows government data. The government is vaccinating the population against covid, and the cumulative figure for jabs administered in the country crossed 11.72 crore today.
“The Covid-19 crisis made global health a local issue, demonstrating the need for pandemic preparedness and the use of smart public health interventions to identify and manage disease outbreaks," said Deepali Khanna, managing director, Asia Regional Office, The Rockefeller Foundation, an American organization that advances new frontiers of science, data, policy, and innovation to solve global challenges related to health, food, power, and economic mobility.
“Alongside the mass vaccination effort, India should continue testing and expand capacities in genomic surveillance to effectively contain the viral transmissions now and in the future," Khanna said.
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