New Delhi: At the beginning of the third wave of Covid infections, Delhi is witnessing a large number of doctors and paramedics testing positive for COVID-19, which could put the city’s health infrastructure under severe strain, experts said on Tuesday. At least 50 doctors at Delhi’s AIIMS have tested positive for Covid, while 26 have been diagnosed with the disease at Safdarjung Hospital, officials said.
According to an official, 45 health workers, including 38 doctors, have contracted Kovid in the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the last few days. At least 20 doctors have contracted Covid at Hindu Rao Hospital, run by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, while it is seven in Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Hospital, sources said.
Even though the Delhi government has repeatedly insisted that this time most cases will be mild or asymptomatic that do not require hospitalisation, the data shows an increase in the number of Covid patients in hospitals and the number of patients requiring oxygen and ventilator support. it shows. Experts said that since the highly transmissible Omicron variant is going to infect people in never-before-seen numbers, so will the proportion of people needing medical care in hospitals.
Delhi on Tuesday recorded 5,481 COVID-19 cases, the highest since May 16, with a positivity rate of 8.37 per cent and three more fatalities due to the viral disease. In view of the alarming rise in cases, the AIIMS administration has canceled the winter leave of its teachers.
“It is informed that the Competent Authority has decided to cancel the remaining part of Winter Vacation – from 5th January to 10th January – due to the ongoing COVID 19 / Omicron Pandemic. All faculty members are requested to apply with immediate effect.” Join your duty from here,” read an office memorandum issued on January 3. At least 26 doctors from the gynecology, medicine and microbiology departments have been infected and are in isolation, Safdarjung Hospital officials said. Their contacts are being traced.
Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Ritu Saxena said that while seven doctors of Delhi government’s biggest health facility Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital have tested positive for coronavirus in the last two days, three of them have been kept in a special ward. And the rest are in home isolation. Dr Madhu Handa, Medical Director of Moolchand Hospital said that four resident doctors and at least five nurses have tested positive in a week.
“Other doctors have to manage somehow, do double shifts. Sometimes, we hire more doctors. For nurses, we have to manage third-year students or do nursing,” he said. said. Dr BL Sherwal, Medical Director, Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital said that some doctors are testing for COVID every day and the number is likely to increase in the coming days. “The number of hospitalizations so far has been low, but it is Health workers are going to increase and put under stress. Doctors, nursing staff, laboratory technicians, paramedical staff are one of the most vulnerable groups. A large number of health workers getting infected will complicate the situation,” he said.
Dr Sherwal said that the city government has trained 5,000 youth as medical assistants and they would be deployed if needed. The city government last month ordered medical superintendents and directors of all government hospitals to depute manpower in anticipation of a surge in infections.
President of Federation of Resident Doctors Association Dr Manish Jangra said that they had warned the government of the health crisis and requested to expedite the NEET-PG 2021 counseling. “Hospitals are operating with two-thirds of their staff. At the peak of the wave, the situation will spiral out of control. The resident doctors are already battling burnout,” he said. Dr Arun Kumar Sharma, from the Department of Community Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences, said the number of hospitalizations is likely to increase proportionately and with a large number of doctors getting infected, even if they develop mild symptoms, temporary distress may arise. Is.
“The spurt in cases among doctors in Nalanda (Nalanda Medical College and Hospital in Patna, Bihar) is due to the omicron variant that is causing only mild illness.” Yet, these doctors also self-quarantine themselves for seven to 10 days. will have to be separated. So, it can definitely create temporary crisis in hospitals,” he said.
Dr Sharma suggested that hospitals create a “buffer stock of doctors” who can be deployed in such a situation. “At the same time, COVID-appropriate behavior in hospitals, dispensaries and clinics will have to be strictly enforced. Admission of patients to such places should be regulated as per the available space to ensure social distancing,” he said.
Government data shows that the number of patients in Delhi hospitals has increased from 247 on January 1 to 531 on January 4. In the last three days, the number of patients on oxygen support has increased from 94 to 168 and the number of patients on ventilator has increased from four to four. 14. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier said that his government is prepared to handle one lakh Covid cases a day in a worst-case scenario.
Dr VK Paul, the head of the Centre’s coronavirus task force, warned in December that India could see 1.4 million cases a day if the growth of the Omicron variant does not slow down.
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