Jamshedpur: With the number of Covid cases approaching 20,000 at East Singhbhum, Tata’s main hospital (TMH) will increase its Covid infrastructure to cope with the high patient load.
According to hospital sources, the total number of Covid patients admitted to TMH was eight just two weeks ago, but now it has risen to 80. “Currently we have 140 general beds and 18 ICU beds for patients. Covid, but following an increase in cases, infrastructure and diagnostic facilities will likely be increased at the hospital, ”said Rajan Chaudhry, medical services advisor at Tata Steel. He added that the next few weeks will be crucial for the district in terms of the rise in the number of active cases.
Currently, the number of active cases in the district is 464 (as of Saturday morning).
Rajan also said Covid testing has been stepped up at TMH. “At the moment, we are conducting over 1,100 tests per day with a weekly positivity rate of 8.49%,” he added.
“Some hospital staff, like doctors and paramedics, are infected as a result of their exposure to Covid patients. If the number of infections does not decrease, the routine activities of the hospital could be reduced, ”he said. When asked, Rajan did not mention the number of hospital staff who have tested positive and said, “We need to see how we can manage OPD services if the number of patients continues to increase. ”
TMH chief executive Sudhir Rai said from Saturday that it had become mandatory for doctors and support staff to wear PPE equipment in emergency departments and the OPD.
Meanwhile, Rajan and Rai urged everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible “because it is the most powerful tool to beat the virus”. Rajan said: “The rate of infection from the mutant coronavirus is such that if one person contracts the disease, it can spread to the whole family within two hours.”
On April 1 and 2, TMH administered vaccines to 750 and 1,200 beneficiaries, respectively.