India crossed the 5,000 mark of positive coronavirus cases on Tuesday with Maharashtra becoming the first State in the country to go near 1,000 count. As per tallies from States, the total count of positive cases stood at 5,200 at 9 pm with 150 casualties. The country added more than 400 new cases during the day and the States were still reporting.
Mahasrashtra, which has emerged as the biggest hotspot in the country, added 150 new cases on Tuesday and reported as many as 60 deaths. Tamil Nadu registered 67 new cases, which took its count to 690, followed by Delhi, Telangana, Kerala Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
A day after tea vendor operating near Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s private residence “Matoshri” at Kalanagar, Bandra (east) in north-west Mumbai, tested positive for Covid-19, as many as 170 security personnel, including State reserve personnel, were on Tuesday quarantined at a building in the neighbourhood, as a precautionary measure.
The tea vendor, who had tested positive, is currently being treated at the HBT Medical College and Dr RN Cooper Hospital at Juhu in north-west Mumbai.
What caused anxiety was the fact that the security personnel attached to the CM used to frequent the affected vendor’s stall to have tea.
Not wanting to take any chances, the Brihanmumbnai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to shift 170 security personnel to the nearby the Uttar Bhartiya Sangh building in Mumbai’s Bandra (East), where they have been quarantined.
Meanwhile, the Government has put in place three-layered mechanism for identification of the appropriate Covid-19 dedicated facility depending on the severity of the virus infected patient.
The available data in India suggests that nearly 70 per cent of the Covid-19 cases either exhibit mild or very mild symptoms.
Such cases may not require admission to Covid-19 blocks/dedicated Covid-19 hospitals.
The guidance document on appropriate management of suspect/confirmed cases of Covid-19 released by the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday focused on three types of Covid-19 dedicated facilities --- dedicated COVID Care Centre, dedicated COVID Health Centre and dedicated COVID hospitals.
Patients will also be categorised into three groups and managed in the respective Covid hospitals.
Under the first layer, critical care under which all Covid patients would be sent to HDU (High Dependence Units) and ICU at Government medical colleges while at level 2 health centres will cater to patients with “mild symptoms” admitted in isolation facilities.
“Level 3 care centres will cover patients with ‘very mild symptoms’,” said Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal at a Press briefing here.
The standard operating procedures (SOPs) set by the Government aims to provide care to all Covid-19 patients. Cases continue to surge across the States with Maharashtra reporting to be the worst-hit at 868 total confirmed cases and 52 deaths so far, followed by Tamil Nadu at 621 and Delhi at 523.
The SOP will ensure that the available hospital beds are used only for moderate to severe cases of Covid-19 and also specify the different types of facilities to be set up for various categories of Covid-19 cases, as per the document posted on the Ministry’s website.
All the three types will have separate earmarked areas for suspect and confirmed cases. Suspect and confirmed cases should not be allowed to mix under any circumstances.
All suspect cases (irrespective of severity of their disease) will be tested for Covid-19. Further management of these cases will depend on their clinical status and result of Covid-19 testing, as per the Government guidelines.
The Covid Care Centres (CCC) which will be makeshift facilities will offer care only for cases that have been clinically assigned as mild or very mild cases or Covid-19 suspect cases.
These may be set up in hostels, hotels, schools, stadiums, lodges etc, both public and private. If need be, existing quarantine facilities could also be converted into Covid Care Centres. Functional hospitals like CHCs, etc, which may be handling regular, non-Covid cases, should be designated as Covid Care Centres as a last resort.
Wherever a Covid Care Centre is designated for admitting both the confirmed and the suspected cases, these facilities must have separate areas for suspected and confirmed cases with preferably separate entry and exit. Suspect and confirmed cases must not be allowed to mix under any circumstances, as per the document.
As far as possible, wherever suspect cases are admitted to the Covid Care Centre, preferably individual rooms should be assigned for such cases.
The next in line is the Dedicated Covid Health Centres (DCHC), which are hospitals that shall offer care for all cases that have been clinically assigned as moderate. These should either be a full hospital or a separate block in a hospital with preferably separate entry/exit/zoning.
Private hospitals may also be designated as Covid Dedicated Health Centres, according to the document. These hospitals would have beds with assured oxygen support.
The Dedicated COVID hospitals are hospitals that shall offer comprehensive care primarily for those who have been clinically assigned as severe.
The States/UTs may identify hospitals with dedicated and separate space and set up fever clinics in such hospitals. The fever clinics may also be set up in CHCs, in rural areas subject to availability of sufficient space to minimise the risk of cross infections.
In urban areas, the civil general hospitals, urban CHCs and municipal hospitals may also be designated as fever clinics. These could be set up preferably near the main entrance for triage and referral to appropriate Covid-19 dedicated facility. Wherever space allows, a temporary make shift arrangement outside the facility may be arranged for this triaging.
