Hospitalization up as fresh Covid-19 cases rise in Vadodara

VADODARA: Besides the increase in the number of fresh and active Covid-19 cases, the number of patients hospitalized due to the viral infection too has gone up. From no indoor patients till Friday, the number of hospitalized cases went up to four on Tuesday.
Covid-19 cases have started trickling in consistently since February 28. Within a week, the number of active cases more than doubled in the city. On March 14, there were 15 active cases which increased to 37 on Tuesday. Of these active cases, four have been hospitalized.
Out of the four active cases, the condition of one patient is critical and is on ventilator support. Two other patients in the hospital needed oxygen support. Only one patient had mild symptoms. The rest of the active cases were being treated at home according to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC).
Dr Devesh Patel, VMC medical officer (health), said that the situation was not that alarming. "Those needing oxygen or ventilator support may be suffering from other health complications too," he said.
While no deaths were declared officially, sources in the state-run SSG Hospital (SSGH) said that a patient who had died at the hospital had tested positive for Covid-19. The 57-year-old man had tuberculosis as well as hypertension as comorbidities. He was also a smoker for about two decades.
Sources said that the report of the man's blood samples turned out to be positive for Covid-19. But the report came after his death. The case will be referred to the death audit committee which will ascertain if Covid-19 was the primary cause of death or if the patient died due to comorbidities.
The death of a person testing positive for Covid-19 is treated as a Covid death only if the primary cause of death is Covid-19.