Srikakulam district continued to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, as active cases climbed to 12,672 and the total caseload went past the 1-lakh mark on Friday.
The district was one of the last to be affected by COVID-19 in the past year. The total caseload now stands at 1,00,812.
Of the active cases, 1,729 patients have been admitted to hospital while 915 persons are being treated at COVID Care Centres. As many as 10,028 patients who have mild symptoms are in home isolation, and are being contacted by the Medical and Health Department regularly for updates on their health.
Of the 7,013 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, 1,143 persons tested positive. Recoveries too went up, with 1,457 persons who had contracted the virus testing negative. The death toll stood unchanged at 550.
Srikakulam Collector J. Nivas told The Hindu that the district administration managed to provide beds to each and every new patient with the improvement of facilities at RIMS and other hospitals.
“We have set up a 15-bedded triage at RIMS hospital. The transit facility helps administer medical care to patients before getting admission to hospital. Oxygen and other medical support will be provided soon. The air-conditioned triage will be a big help for patients,” he said.
The Collector said 1,400 beds with oxygen support are available in the district. Facilities at COVID-19 wards are almost at par with intensive care units, he said, advising doctors to monitor the condition of the patients on an hourly basis.
Fever survey
“The fever survey being conducted in villages and urban areas is helping identify new positive cases quickly. Around 2,000 fever cases are being identified daily and among those cases, nearly 1,000 are turning out to be COVID cases. The district administration is trying to get COVID-19 test reports quickly to ensure quicker treatment for the patients,” he said.
