While the total number of COVID-19 cases in the district has seen a steep rise in the last one month taking the total to 2,078 as on June 13th morning, the brighter side has been the number of discharges.
Visakhapatnam is one among the few districts where the number of discharges are more than the active cases. While on June 13th morning, the number of active cases stand at 971, the discharges have been 1,082.
One reason for the more number of discharges, as per the health officials, is that the number of people who tested positive from hotspots have been discharged in large numbers.
A number of cases that were reported within a short time from hotspots such as Peda Jalaripeta, Anakapalle and Appughar. The same people were discharged in the last few days, which has shot up the discharge count.
Another aspect that has increased the count of discharges in the recent times is the new Government Instant Order No. 62. As per the order, every positive person is to be treated for a period of 10 days, instead of the earlier 14 days and discharged without a swab test. Elaborating on it, a senior doctor with the Health Department in the COVID frontline said, “Earlier, after a period of 10 days of treatment, swab was taken on the 11th day, the report was given on the 12th day and on the 13th day the case was examined by the discharge committee and the patient was then released on the 14th day. Now, as per the new order, if a person has no symptoms on the 10th day, he or she is released without the swab test. Thereafter, they are put into one-week home quarantine and their health condition is monitored by a separate team. This how we are saving three days and that is why the discharges are higher,” he said.
Pressure for beds rises
But sources say that since the pressure for beds are on the rise with the steep increase in cases, which has been averaging over 100 in the last few days, the district authorities are under pressure for beds in the designated COVID hospitals. such as GIMSR, NRI, VIMS, Gayatri, Chest Hospital and ENT hospital.
The logic is simple, more the discharges, the more will be the availability of beds, said a doctor. To handle the situation, the district authorities have set up COVID Care Centres (CCC), to admit the asymptomatic persons, so that beds are available in the hospitals for those who need treatment.
According to District Collector V. Vinay Chand, the target is to have at least 7,000 beds in CCC and about 5,000 beds ready in hospitals with at least 2,000 connected to oxygen or ventilators.
According to a senior doctor, the treatment is basically symptomatic with focus on stabilising the co-morbidities. But for critical cases and those in ventilators or administered oxygen, the treatment is different and the protocol is different. “Basing on the criticality, drugs such as Remdesivir or plasma treatment is given,” he said.
