To contain Covid surge, PCMC directs residential housing societies to set up isolation centres

Even as over 15,000 COVID-19 patients are in home isolation in the industrial city, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has decided to encourage setting up of isolation centres in residential societies in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.

The PCMC on Monday directed the cooperative residential societies spread across the length and breadth of the industrial city to set up isolation centres in their respective club houses. The civic administration has also issued guidelines for setting up of the isolation centres.

“As COVID-19 cases are rising, the PCMC administration is taking all measures to curb the spread of the virus. Though a maximum number of patients are in home isolation, the possibility of their relatives and neighbours getting infected cannot be ruled out. Such patients should be kept in isolation to check the spread of the virus. Therefore, the cooperative housing societies should take immediate steps to set up isolation centres in their clubhouses. They should provide beds, toilets and make arrangements for meals for the patients,” Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Patil said in his directives.

Here are the guidelines issued by the PCMC for setting up of the isolation centres.

(1) Such isolation centres should be set up in club houses.
(2) The isolation centres are meant only for those patients who are asymptomatic, those who have mild symptoms and those who are COVID suspects. Civic officials said suspects are those whose test reports are awaited
(3) The PCMC said this facility should not be made available to children below 10 years of age
(4) Also, the isolation centres should not admit comorbid patients like those suffering from BP, diabetes, kidney ailment, heart disease and other serious diseases
(5) PCMC said societies should ensure that COVID suspects and COVID positive patients are not kept together
(6) The isolation centre should have separate entry and exit points.
(7) Each bed should be three feet away from the other
(8) Separate toilet facilities should be made available for COVID positive patients.
(9) The patients should use triple layer mask
(10) The caretakers will keep constant watch on the patients. The caretakers should sanitise their hands regularly
(11) Patients admitted in isolation centres should not visit their homes, parks or other places.
(12) CCTV cameras should be installed to monitor the movements of the patients
(13) The patients should be provided disposal plates for meal
14) The patients should be admitted to hospitals in case they have breathing trouble, their oxygen level drops, they have mental confusion, they have pain in the chest, feeling weakness or their lips and face turns blue.
(15) The bio-medical waste should be disposed of with the help of a hospital
(16) Civic hospital doctors should check the isolation centres twice a day.
(17) The society should keep the nearest PCMC hospital updated about the isolation centre.

In another decision, the PCMC has launched an app, “Me Jababdar – PCMC” providing information about beds in civic and private hospital beds. The app will also provide contact numbers of the hospital.

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