The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) administration has appealed to the physicians in the city to advise COVID-19 patients to get treatment at COVID Care Centre instead of home isolation. The civic body interacted with over 300 doctors over video conferencing and discussed treatment for patients above 50 years of age.
Last month, an internal study of NMMC revealed that around 80 per cent of deaths due to COVID infections are found in people between 50 years and 70 years. Thus, the civic body has made it necessary for keeping COVID-19 patients above 50 years at institutional quarantine centre or COVID centre.
Abhijit Bangar, the municipal commissioner had directed medical officers of all civic health centers to admit the COVID patients above 50 years of age to the civic COVID centre or to a private hospital as per their demand. However, if a patient wishes to remain in home isolation, the patient has to obtain the certificate of the doctor under whose guidance he or she will be in home isolation.
In this regard, the civic chief interacted with more than 300 private doctors online and discussed in detail the health status of the patients in home isolation and compliance with the government's guidelines in this regard.
While reviewing the health status of the patients in the second wave of Covid as well as the demand for availability of beds available on the municipal helpline, it was noticed that the oxygen level of COVID persons in home isolation was rapidly declining. Therefore, it has been observed that these patients need ICU beds or ventilators directly. This condition is extremely dangerous in terms of the health of the patients and 80 per cent of the total deaths in the second wave have occurred above 50 years of age.
Therefore, the civic administration interacted with physicians and appealed to them that they guide patients above 50 years of age and comorbid corona positive persons should not choose home isolation even if the house is large, but should be advised to seek treatment under the supervision of a doctor at the corporation's Covid center or private hospital.
“Patients regular private doctor or physician, whom patients trust, is a very important factor in the fight against COVID. Therefore, physicians or private doctors should encourage people for Covid test in the interest of the patient's health as well as considering the patient's age and other ailments,” said a senior civic official.
