There is no need to panic, official tells people

Focus on hygiene and cleanliness instead to improve immunity, says Deputy Commissioner

Deputy Commissioner Deepa Cholan interacting with health officials at KIMS Hospital in Hubballi on Thursday.

Dharwad Deputy Commissioner Deepa Cholan on Thursday visited the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) Hospital and the Railway Hospital in Hubballi to oversee preparedness in these hospitals to handle COVID-19 cases.

Along with Chief Executive Officer of the Dharwad Zilla Panchayat B.C. Sateesh, Ms. Cholan inspected the facilities at both these hospitals and sought information from the health officials about the steps taken so far.

At KIMS Hospital, an isolation ward with 12 beds has been set up with a provision to extend it up to 32 beds.

Ms. Cholan said that there was no need for the general public to panic. People should focus on maintaining hygiene, cleanliness to improve one’s immunity, she added. Director of KIMS Ramalingappa Antaratani said that till date not a single case of COVID-19 had been reported in the district. Although two suspected cases were reported, laboratory reports were negative. All necessary steps had been taken to provide requisite treatment to patients suspected to have COVID-19, he said.

Subsequently, the Deputy Commissioner visited the Central Railway Hospital on Gadag Road and inspected the isolation wards and other facilities created at the hospital. Medical Superintendent of KIMS Hospital Arun Kumar, District Health and Family Welfare Officer Yashwanth Madeenkar, Chief Health Officer of Railway Hospital Ravi, Tahsildar Shashidhar Madyal and others provided information to the Deputy Commissioner.

Vigil stepped up

Meanwhile, in Dharwad the district administration has stepped up vigil and made special medical arrangements to handle possible cases in the district.

Ms. Cholan and Mr. Sateesh and a team of officials visited several private hospitals too. Ms. Deepa during her visit to the Civil Hospital interacted with District Surgeon Shivkumar Mankar and collected information on the steps taken.

Dr. Mankar said that the District Civil Hospital has taken up several measures following an advisory issued by the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry. Accordingly, an isolation ward has been set up 200 metres away from the OPD and IPD sections.

According to Dr. Mankar, a five-bed exclusive and dedicated ward to deal with coronavirus infection cases has been set up and trained staff have been deputed. This ward would function round the clock.

He said that there is no specific treatment for coronavirus infection and necessary arrangements have been made to provide supportive treatment to affected persons. To ensure safety of doctors and hospital staff, special personal protection kits have been procured, Dr. Mankar said. Sufficient N95 masks too have been procured.