Covid alarm:Centre asks states to set up makeshift hospitals

States have been asked to set up makeshift hospitals and form special teams, the central government said on Saturday amid a nationwide alarm over a surge in coronavirus cases driven largely by the highly infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19.Apart from adding more beds to hospitals, ramping up health care facilities, the states have been asked to check their oxygen availability, on a note of caution. Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan  in his leeter,wrote to states, said . "In the context of the spread of Variant of Concern Omicron, in India, the case trajectory is also showcasing an upward trend with 16,764 cases reported on December 31, the highest ever single-day rise in the past 70 days.  Create makeshift hospitals. States may also utilise hotel accommodations for patients having mild to moderate symptoms, as it was done during the earlier surges in some states, it said. 

"A large number of positive cases may be eligible for home isolation. These cases would require effective follow up and a clearly defined mechanism for prompt shifting to a health facility in case of deterioration in their health situation,"  Bhushan said and added that  it is particularly important that all states should monitor their home isolation protocol and its actual implementation at the field level. "A mechanism wherein citizens can call and get ambulance and a bed in a transparent manner needs to be operationalised. The call centres, district or state-level dashboards/portals can play an important role in organising the same," he said.

"A clear focus on rural areas and pediatric cases must also be maintained. States need to regularly review the availability of required logistics, oxygen availability and buffer stock of drugs across all health facilities in the state," he said. To contain the spread of infection, the implementation of containment activities at the field level is essential, he said. Need for effective contact tracing coupled with quarantine of contacts, including facility quarantine for high risk and comorbid contacts, shall be taken up. Sufficient number of quarantine facilities shall accordingly be planned across the state, Bhushan said.