Covid: Hospitalisation scales 7-month peak

Ludhiana: Amid rise in Covid-19 cases, the patient count in isolation wards of government and private hospitals has reached two digits for the first time in seven months.
A report of the health department said 11 patients were admitted to isolation wards of hospitals — two in government and nine in private hospitals — in Ludhiana on Monday and Tuesday. Previously, the number of patients in isolation wards of the government and hospitals was more than the recent numbers only on August 25 last year when 16 patients were admitted in hospitals.
The data of March and April so far revealed that no patient needed admission in isolation wards of hospitals in Ludhiana for many months. One Covid patient was admitted to a hospital on March 9, the number fell to 0 on March 14, but rose to three on March 16. There was just one Covid patient in hospitals on March 21, 2 on April 1 and 6 on April 3.
Isolation wards of Ludhiana hospitals reported maximum admission of patients on January 27 last year at 413.
Though civil surgeon Dr Hatinder Kaur couldn’t be contacted, health officials said because of recent increase in number of cases, they have issued an advisory for the people to follow Covid norms. They said the admission count is still very less as compared to number reported during the previous Covid waves. Health officials said patients admitted in isolation wards have mild to moderate symptoms.
“Most of the patients who are getting admitted are those with comorbidities. So people don’t need to panic. But they should follow Covid norms,” said Ludhiana IMA president Dr Gaurav Sachdeva. He advised the people with influenza-like illness symptoms to get tested for Covid as many are not doing that.