Reports of doctors and healthcare workers being infected by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid-19 have started emerging from all corners of the nation -- whether private or government hospitals -- what could be called a worrying development that might soon aggravate the already understaffed healthcare system in the country.
Besides shortage of staff, this is also likely to cause anxiety among the medical professionals and healthcare workers deployed at the frontline, say health experts as they called for interventions that emphasize physicians’ ability to work safely and efficiently in providing care to the patients.
However, so far most of the frontline workers in the healthcare duty who have been infected, are showing mild symptoms unlike in the second wave of Covid-19 when the delta virus had taken lives of at least 798 medical professionals in the country of which maximum 128 doctors lost their lives in Delhi, followed by Bihar at 115.
“This time symptoms are mostly mild and no hospitalization is required for any case. Most of the doctors who have reported positive for Covid, are all isolating themselves,” said an official from the Union Health Ministry. He added that most of them have received two doses of Covid-19 vaccines. India is already in the grips of a third wave of the virus. The number of new cases is shooting with each passing day.
In Delhi which is witnessing a sharp surge in infection for the past few days, at least 180 doctors from six big hospitals have tested positive. To begin with, in the country’s premier health institution All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, at least 50 doctors have gone into isolation after some tested positive while others showed symptoms of Covid-19. The hospital has already cancelled the doctors’ winter vacation amid rising Covid cases. In a notice issued on Monday, the AIIMS Delhi directed all faculty members to join their duty with immediate effect.
Apart from AIIMS, more than 23 doctors at the Safdarjung Hospital, also in the national capital, have also tested positive for the coronavirus over the past one week.
“These are not Omicron cases. Symptoms are mostly mild and no hospitalization is required in any case. They are all isolating themselves,” said a doctor from Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML), which caters to a large number of patients daily particularly from poor strata. At least 25 medicos are in isolation at the RML. There are reports of doctors from Maulana Azad Medical College and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital showing Covid-like symptoms, and have been isolated as preventive measures.
Situation is no different in Covid-hit Mumbai in Maharashtra. At St George’s Hospital - one of the largest facilities in Mumbai - 25 per cent of 650 resident doctors have contracted the virus; while at Lion Tarachand Bapa Hospital in the suburb of Sion West, at least six staff have tested positive. Ditto at the CIDCO Covid Hospital in the suburb of Vashi, where healthcare is impacted by shortage of staff as doctors tested positive for Covid-19.
In Punjab’s Patiala, a total of 80 medical personnel, including doctors, students and support staff of the Government Rajindra Hospital and Medical College have tested positive for the novel coronavirus as the district is turning out to be the worst-hit region in terms of rising number of Covid-19 cases.
District Epidemiologist Dr Sumeet Singh said 22 resident doctors, 34 medical students, nine faculty members and 15 support and paramedical staff at the Government Rajindra Hospital and Medical College have tested positive for Covid-19.
Similarly, in Bihar, ten medical staff of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) Patna and four medical staff of Jayprabha Medanta Hospital have been found to be corona positive. So are the 96 junior doctors of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in the northern State.
Similar pattern also emerged from Medanta Hospital at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh where as many as 25 medical staff, including doctors and paramedics, have tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
In Pune too, at least 49 female MBBS students and two staff members from the Government Medical College at Miraj in Sangli district have tested positive for coronavirus. “All students are largely asymptomatic and stable. As a precaution, they have been admitted to the hospital attached to the college. The infection was reported in one section of the hostel as students used to gather for meals in the mess,” said Dean Dr. Sudhir Nanandkar.
In West Bengal, around 35 doctors at Dr R Ahmed Dental College and Hospital have been infected, while 36 doctors of the Chittaranjan Seva Sadan Hospital have tested positive for Covid. Regional Institute of Ophthalmology (RIO), the only state-run eye hospital, has 15 doctors down with Covid, as per reports.
Dr. Rahul Bhargava, Director of Haematology, Paediatric Haematology, Immunology and Stem Cell Transplant at Fortis Memorial Research, urged the government to allow people to take booster shots whenever it's possible as it will reduce the severity of the infection. “Also, people should be encouraged to take vaccines and adopt Covid appropriate behaviour besides home isolation if they are showing mild Covid symptoms. This will help save beds for the serious patients as well as minimize burden on health infrastructure.”
Dr. JS Titiyal, Professor of Ophthalmology and Chief of RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, Delhi said, “There has been a tremendous rise in patients, and we are expecting that to continue considering the infectivity of Omicron. Soon, a good number of staff will be diverted for Covid duty. Hence, there is a need to establish mechanisms to reduce the risks of stress and anxiety among physicians besides ensuring their health, safety and wellbeing.”
“Mental health coping interventions through counselling should be based on Covid-19 protocol guidelines,” he pointed out.
Dr. Smita Deshpande, former head of Psychiatry Department, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, agreed as she referred to a review of healthcare professionals in journal Sciencedirect that found one in four reported depression and anxiety, and one in three suffered insomnia during the pandemic.