Doctors’ groups have called for expansion of the COVID-19 testing strategy and more facilities for health-care workers to control the spread of the infection in the State. Right now, samples are collected for testing from clusters where there is a concentration of cases.
Indian Medial Association (IMA) State secretary P. Gopikumar told The Hindu on Monday that it would now have to be extended to places that could become possible clusters.
“Closed spaces where a large number of people gather, such as markets, should be identified for large-scale testing of people. Those who test positive for the virus should be isolated so that they don’t mingle with others. If possible, even houses in such areas should be singled out for collection of samples,” he said.
Another area of focus should be places inhabited by those whose source of infection is not known. This would prevent the infection from spreading to more areas, Dr. Gopikumar said.
The need for protecting health-care staff has been flagged against the backdrop of shutting of hospitals where doctors or nurses have turned positive for the virus.
Frequent tests
The Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) has urged the Chief Minister to ensure that health workers are subjected to frequent tests. “The staff should be deployed on a rotation basis to reduce the chances of infection. There should be different layers of health-care workers in a hospital so that the cumulative exposure to the infection will be less. This will help prevent more staff from going into quarantine,” T.N. Suresh, vice president, KGMOA, said.
Dr. Suresh said more staff should be appointed in government hospitals to address the possibility of a rapid rise in the number of infected persons. “Implementing a virtual queue system in outpatient wards and limiting the number of people a doctor should consult will help reduce overcrowding and prevent cross-infection in hospitals,” he said.
Avoid mingling
The IMA functionary, meanwhile, said that mingling of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients should be avoided in hospitals.
“Most of the health-care workers getting infected are those working in non-COVID wards. Infection control steps should be implemented everywhere without fail. Wearing of personal protection equipment will have to be made mandatory for the staff,” Dr. Gopikumar said.
The number of visitors in private hospitals should be restricted and only one bystander should be allowed to accompany patients, he added.
