The Shivamogga City Corporation donated two secured booths for collection of throat and nasal swabs of persons having symptoms of COVID-19 to McGann Hospital, a government hospital attached to Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences(SIMS).
McGann Hospital has been identified as the dedicated hospital to treat COVID-19 cases in the district. Nasal and throat swabs of symptomatic persons are conducted at the Viral Diagnostic and Research Laboratory on the premises of the hospital. K.S. Eshwarappa, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, handed over the booths to the hospital authorities.
The booths have aluminium and glass cabins. The shielding screen will protect the medical professional from coming in direct contact with the aerosol of the patient while collection of samples. The stethoscopes are attached to the booths for auscultation, necessary for proper diagnosis. Those inside the booth will be equipped with double-layer safety gloves to minimise the chances of exposure to the virus.
Raghunandan R., district surgeon, told The Hindu that the booth is fool-proof and there will be no direct contact between the patient and the medical staff. A microphone is installed inside the booth through which the medical professional can interact with the patient. The medical professional working inside the booth also need not change personal protective equipment after each sample collection as done earlier. He said that it is possible to collect samples of 60 patients from each booth daily.
Ayanur Manjunath, MLC; K.B. Sivakumar, Deputy Commissioner; K.M. Shantharaju, Superintendent of Police; Rajesh Suragihalli, District Health Officer and Gurupadappa, director of SIMS were present.
