Haryana Director General of Health Services Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj says that due to in view of increasing coronavirus cases especially in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar- four districts of State that sharing borders with Delhi, the chief medical officers concerned have been asked to focus on 3Ts—tracing, testing and treatment for early detection and treatment of Covid-19 patients.l
On an average around 5,500 tests per day are estimated to be done at present, he says, pointing out that on the direction of the Government, the department has stepped up focus on ramping up testing by another three to four thousands per day in near future. l
In an exclusive interview with ‘The Pioneer’, DG Health talks about current Covid-19 situation and steps being taken to contain it further: Excerpts from the interview:
Around 400 to 500 Covid-19 cases are being reported in the State on a daily basis over the last few weeks. According to you, what is the actual current situation now in Haryana?
The situation in the State is under control. Even as Covid-19 cases in Haryana are continuing to surface at a worrying pace, the number of recovered patients also is continuing to increase. In the last seven days, the recovery rate of Covid-19 in Haryana has been 72.25 percent, which had earlier reached 32 percent at one time. l
By June 30, the number of active cases of Covid-19 in Haryana was estimated to be over 35,000, but due to effective arrangements to prevent infection of Covid-19, it reached 16,200 cases till Saturday in the State. Meanwhile, we have laid emphasis on 3Ts—tracing, testing and treatment for early detection, treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Are some areas of the State moving towards community spread of the virus?
In terms of transmission of the disease, the World Health Organisation has defined coronavirus spread in four stages. The first stage is when cases only with travel history are reported and their sources are traced and there is no local spread.l In stage two, infected people spread the virus to close friends or family. At this stage, every person who came in contact with the infected can be traced and isolated.
And the stage three is community transmission, breakout happens in community but the source for the virus cannot be traced. Stage four arrives when a large number of infections and a growing number of deaths with no end in sight. Here in Haryana, there is no community spread of coronavirus in any part of the State.
Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat, Rohtak and Jhajjar continued to dominate the Covid-19 tally. What are the steps being taken to contain the infections in these districts?
Covid -19 cases have increased here. We have laid special focus to contain it with the deployment of doctors, health workers, police and sanitation workers. Medical teams are effectively implementing a containment plan under the supervision of senior health officers. Intensive sampling of Covid through Rapid Antigen Testing Kits are being done in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar. l
Surveillance teams and a rapid response team have been stationed at the health care centres and are deployed go door-to-door to educate patients about how to manage the virus at an individual and household level.
Over 1500 pulse oximeters have been distributed in Haryana to enable people to test oxygen in their body and in addition, 1000 pulse oximeters will be distributed additionally. Department of Ayush has distributed immunity boosting medicines to more than 3.71 lakhs persons in containment zones.
Do you have any record of the number of health workers, sanitation workers and police personnel infected to Covid-19?
As of now we have not compiled data so far. Motivation level is highest among doctors and other health workers. But we would like to say that health professionals and police and sanitation workers are joined working with effective coordination to contain Covid-19.
The Health community across the World is looking at plasma or antibody therapy to battle Covid-19. When will Haryana start plasma therapy for Covid-19 treatment?
Like Haryana, many States of the country have sought approval for convalescent plasma therapy from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
But so far, ICMR does not recommend it as a treatment option outside clinical trials. Plasma therapy for treatment of such COVID 19 patients in Government medical colleges will be started after approval from ICMR.
What is the current status of medical facilities in the State? Do you have sufficient number of beds, oxygen supply or medical professionals to effectively fight against Covid-19 outbreak? What is the testing rate in Haryana?
As of now, the State has sufficient number of beds, oxygen supply, PPEs or healthcare workers. 750 new doctors were recruited due to Covid-19 outbreak. Personal protection equipment has been sufficiently provided to doctors and paramedical staff to help them treat patients without risking their lives.
State has 41,171 bedded quarantine facilities in dedicated Covid Care Centers and 11,587 Beds are available in dedicated Covid Hospitals and in dedicated Covid Health Centers.
956 regular doctors by the Health Department and 206 Ayush Medical Officers by Ayush Department recruited across Haryana state to tackle the crisis of Covid effectively. State has massively improved its testing facilities from two laboratories in March to around 18 laboratories having testing capacity of around 11,500 persons every day till now.
Many people in the country are in a state of panic owing to its fast-spreading nature. How long will this epidemic continue? Have any medical colleges of Haryana working on finding Covid-19 vaccine?
Ayurveda, the traditional Indian science of health and longevity, echoes the principle of prevention is better than cure, which resonates with the current state of the globe, where cure or vaccine is not available.
Some necessary and simple precautions that can be helpful in preventing further spread of the novel coronavirus.
As the coronavirus pandemic is shaking the world, continuous research is being carried out in India and across the globe on the evolution and treatment of Covid-19, with no reliable treatment in place till date.
As far as research is concerned, Pt Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, is all set to conduct clinical human trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of an indigenous Covid vaccine.
Rohtak PGIMS is among the 12 institutes across the country and the only one in Haryana selected for conducting human trials. We have obtained the requisite permissions for the purpose and will begin these as soon as we receive the vaccine.
Negative impacts on their social profile have turned some people reluctant in getting tested for Covid at a time when public health experts have stressed that enhancement of testing is the sole strategy to contain the spread of deadly virus. Some Patients testing at private labs are learnt to be submitting fake addresses or wrong mobile numbers and, therefore, going untraceable. How would you address these issues?
In some cases either the address was incomplete or wrong mobile numbers were given. To ensure patients give correct details, we have started the OTP system and have also mandated submission of an official ID with permanent address. It is advisable that at the time of testing, a missed call should be given on the shared phone number to verify its correctness.
What are the symptoms of Covid-19 infections and when people should approach a doctor? What are the help lines for covid patients?
Some notable symptoms which doctors have reported till date: Cough, high fever, headache, runny nose and breathing difficulty. Do not panic, these are also symptoms of seasonal flu.
Take the following immediate measures if you have been in direct or indirect physical contact or close proximity with an infected person. Home quarantine yourself, do not panic.
Maintain safe distance from family members. Call on the government helpline for Covid-19; wait till you are tested. State Helpline/Control Room no. 8558893911 (Panchkula, Gurugram and Faridabad districts), 1075 (remaining districts) and 108 launched which are available for 24x7 days.
It seems all the Government medical machinery is actively involved in containing Covid-19 cases. Whether OPDs have started its operation in Government Hospitals?
Fixed OPD Services have been started in all the health institutions including District Hospitals. In District Hospitals, Casualty Services, Medicine OPD and MCH Services are already going on. Surgery was being conducted in some emergency cases.
In addition to this, through telemedicine; patients are advised at home for their treatment in other diseases.
