District Collector S. Suhas, who is also the District Magistrate, has used the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 to commandeer the services of medical and paramedical staff of various private hospitals and non-government institutions, who can be spared by the establishments without affecting their routine activities.
The services of the medical and paramedical staff made available would be helpful in containing the spread of COVID-19.
It is important to identify affected persons and quarantine them at their homes or hospitals depending upon the severity of infection. It would require additional skilled and qualified personnel as there is a huge shortage in the district, with the increasing burden on existing healthcare workers.
The District Police Chief (Kochi City), the Superintendent of Police, Ernakulam Rural, and Sub Divisional Magistrates shall contact hospitals and other agencies which can spare paramedical staff and utilise their services, in consultation with district health authorities.
The Collector has said that as a notice cannot be served individually to all concerned, the order was passed ex-parte.
The Collector also issued an order that whatever space deemed fit for people to be quarantined in the wake of COVID-19 spread would be taken over by the district administration for the purpose. The order said that the requirement of space for keeping people under quarantine was increasing every day. Hostels of educational institutions, schools and colleges, apartments having unoccupied flats and private hospitals having unutilised rooms may be taken over if it can help prevent the spread of the infection.
