A Covid screening OPD has been started at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh considering the possibility of Covid-19 infection. Officials informed that Covid test of every suspected patient will also be done at the flu clinic in this OPD area.

As part of its preparations to tackle any possibility of Covid infection, AIIMS Rishikesh has started the Covid screening OPD and also reserved six beds for Covid infected patients in an emergency situation. Cases of the Covid sub-variant JN.1 have been surfacing in various parts of the country in recent days. So far, there has not been a single reported case of JN.1 sub variant in Uttarakhand. However, as a precautionary health safety measure, AIIMS Rishikesh has started the testing of suspected Covid patients.

The institute’s public relations officer Sandeep Kumar Singh informed that on the directions of the AIIMS Rishikesh director Meenu Singh, this step has been taken by the hospital management for the screening of suspected Covid cases. The AIIMS Rishikesh medical superintendent Dr RB Kalia had held a meeting with departments concerned a day ago regarding this. In the meeting, Kalia had directed that every suspected Covid patient arriving in the hospital should be screened. Suspected Covid patients and those suffering from flu will undergo health checks daily from 9 Am to 5 PM at the Covid screening OPD started at the institute. It was observed during the last Covid wave that the virus is prone to mutate. Considering this, every patient suffering from conditions like cough, fever and cold will be screened in the flu clinic. If needed, the Covid sample of such a patient will be sent for testing. After 5 PM, suspected Covid patients reaching the hospital in an emergency situation will be tested at the medicine emergency of the hospital. Six beds have also been reserved in the geriatric ward for suspected Covid patients where such patients will be admitted in an emergency situation.

It is pertinent to mention here that till December 26, the number of cases of the new variant had reached 109 across the country. These cases have been reported from Gujarat, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. No case of the JN.1 sub-variant has been reported in Uttarakhand so far.