On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued a list of guidelines for dental clinics functioning amid Lockdown 4.0.
According to the new guidelines, the dental clinics will remain closed in the Containment Zones. However, they can continue to provide tele triage. Patients in the containment zones can seek ambulance services to travel to the nearby COVID Dental Facility, said the guidelines.
In the Red Zone, emergency dental procedures can be performed and the dental clinics in Orange and Green Zone will function to provide dental consults. "Dental operations should be restricted to Emergency and Urgent treatment procedures only," read the guidelines.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that all routine and elective dental procedures should be deferred for a later review until new policy/guidelines are issued.
"Due to the high risk associated with the examination of the oral cavity, oral cancer screening under National Cancer Screening program should be deferred until new policy guidelines are issued," said the Ministry.
The Ministry has asked the clinics to ensure ventilation and air circulation with natural air using exhaust blowers and avoid ceiling fans. They have also asked frequent servicing of air conditioning system and have advised to use indoor portable air-cleaning system with HEPA filter and UV light.
Meanwhile, the number of novel coronavirus patients in India passed the significant one-lakh mark on Tuesday with total number of cases rising to 1.01 lakh, with a rise of 4,970 cases in past 24 hours, Union Health Ministry data revealed. According to the Ministry, there are 58,302 active cases, 39,173 people have been cured and 3,163 have died so far.
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