COVID-19 positivity rate in Dharwad district is around 11%, which is less when compared to other districts, and even during its peak, it has not crossed 15%, Minister for Large and Medium Industries Minister and district-in-charge Jagadish Shettar has said.
Speaking to presspersons in Dharwad after participating in a video conference with the Chief Minister on Thursday, Mr. Shettar said that the district administration was effectively handling the situation. It had also taken the requisite measures to face the situation in the eventuality of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Mr. Shettar said that at present, Dharwad district had 3,489 active cases and of them, 2,486 patients were under home isolation. A total of 1,212 patients were admitted to different hospitals in the district and among them, 228 were from other districts, he said.
The district administration had got 2,000 beds available for COVID-19 treatment and of them, 1,074 were vacant. In all, 397 oxygen beds, 60 ICU beds and 104 ventilators were available in the district, he said.
The Minister said that more people were volunteering to get vaccinated now. So far, 2,61,080 lakh people had been inoculated. With the government allowing people above the age of 18 to get inoculated, more vaccination centres had been planned to prevent crowding.
‘There is no shortage’
Clarifying that there was no shortage of medical oxygen and Remdesivir injection in the district, he said that continuous supply had been ensured for oxygen units.
Emphasising that the partial lockdown was for saving the lives of the people, Mr. Shettar appealed to the people to make the partial lockdown successful by staying indoors and taking all precautionary measures. “The Chief Minister has communicated that if necessary cooperation is not extended by the public, then the government will be forced to think of the need to extend the partial lockdown,” he said.
The Minister appealed to the people to avail themselves of government hospital services and they could also get treated at private hospitals with referral letter from the competent authorities. “Free treatment is given in government hospitals and 50% of the beds in private hospitals are kept for free treatment. Those getting admitted to private hospitals should contact Nodal Officer Shashi Patil on Ph: 9880973247 and get referral letter from him by providing the SRF ID of the COVID-19 positive report and Aadhaar number . By doing this, they will be eligible for treatment at private hospitals,” he explained.
Mentioning that private hospitals were not cooperating enough with the district administration in the fight against the pandemic, he said that another meeting of the members of management boards of private hospitals would be convened to seek their cooperation again.
Makeshift ward
The Minister said that steps were being taken for setting up a makeshift hospital ward on KIMS Hospital premises in Hubballi for providing emergency services to COVID-19 patients and it would be ready in another 10 days. “This is the first such initiative in the State and the district administration has already issued an order for getting the makeshift ward ready,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Nitesh Patil, Police Commissioner Labhu Ram and Municipal Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde were present.
