Jharkhand Chief Minister launches Covid treatment circuits for Ranchi, Steel City

RANCHI: To tackle the growing crisis of beds in Ranchi and East Singhbhum, the two hotspot districts in the state with maximum surge and fatalities of Covid-19 cases daily, chief minister Hemant Soren on Saturday launched Covid circuits in these districts and said the government will roll out similar measures in other places in coming days if required.
Soren launched the circuits at a ceremony held at his official residence at Kanke Road here and flagged a few ambulances on the occasion.
Explaining the working of the circuits, the chief minister said, "Oxygen-supported beds are crucial for critical Covid patients. While hospitals in Ranchi and Jamshedpur are overcrowded, there are many other districts where such beds are lying vacant. Hence, we have created a corridor (circuit) linking Ranchi and Jamshedpur with other places with resources to shift the growing number of patients for timely treatment."
He said six districts -- Lohardaga, Ramgarh, Khunti, Gumla, Simdega and Latehar -- are in the Ranchi circuit, two districts -- Seraikela Kharsawan and West Singhbhum are connected with Jamshedpur.
“According to the circuit plan, patients from Ranchi and Jamshedpur, who are unable to get beds, will now be rushed to the nearest available hospital in any of the districts connected with the respective circuits," the chief minister said, adding, "Regulating the patient load at hospitals in these two cities is important amid the surge of Covid cases to control fatalities and properly utilise the medical resources."
Sore also said, "Under the Ranchi circuit, we have 2,000 oxygen-fitted beds which 450 are vacant as of now. But hospitals in Ranchi are reeling under immense crisis. Similar is the situation in Jamshedpur."
To know the status of availability of oxygen-supported beds, Soren also launched three phone numbers -- 0561-2411144 (Ranchi), 0657-2440111 (Jamshedpur) and 8987510050. “One can know the status of availability of oxygen beds by calling on these numbers and can avail the ambulance services.
"Those who have vehicles can rush to the hospitals on their own. We will also ensure that people who don't have vehicles are ferried to the hospitals. All services will be free of cost,” Soren said.
The chief minister assured the people that the state has enough stock of oxygen at the moment. “Let me assure you that there is no crisis of oxygen in this state. We have also increased refilling stations in recent days so that people who have cylinders can get easy access to oxygen for their patients,” he added.