BHOPAL: The rising number of coronavirus cases has turned out to be a challenge for the government again. The challenge is related to providing treatment to the patients. As the cases began to decline in December and January, the state government closed health facilities for treating corona patients.
The government may have to do a lot of exercises to restart those facilities.Many corona testing centres and fever clinics set up for giving preliminary treatment to the patients have also been closed down in many districts, after the number of cases began to diminish.
Similarly, the number of fever clinics in Bhopal and in Indore has reduced. Besides the corona cares being closed down, those who are seriously afflicted with the virus are not being treated at district hospitals.Only the government medical colleges have the ICUs to admit serious cases. Free treatment being given to the corona patients at private hospitals in Bhopal and in Indore has been stopped.
The government set up 160 beds for corona patients in Chirayu Hospital and 100 in Aurobindo Hospital, but all those facilities have been scrapped since March 15.Earlier, as soon as corona patients were found, their contract tracing was done. Nevertheless, no sooner had the number of cases declined than the contract tracing of a patient was stopped.
People without mask are turning out to be a common sight in city market | FP Photo
Only those who come to a hospital with the symptoms of corona are being tested. Other than them, nobody is being tested.Now that the number of patients has shot up to 6,000, the government has only 3,000 beds for treatment. Most of the beds are either in Bhopal or in Indore.
Besides Bhopal and Indore, the coronavirus is spreading to other districts. The cases active are increasing in Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ratlam, Ujjain and Khandwa.
Against this backdrop, it may not be easy to deal with the situation arising out of the spread of corona cases.
Strategy should be on Modi’s Test, Trace, Treat formula
To arrest the coronavirus, the state government has to make a strategy on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s formula: Test, Trace and Treat. Because of decrease in number of patients, the state government has given a wide berth to that formula. Nearly 15,000 tests are being done in the state every day, but it was 30,000 a day earlier.
Therefore, the government has to increase the number of tests again. According to the Prime Minister’s formula, contract tracing too has to be restarted and arrangements should be made for treatment.
