STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Experts say that fast deterioration of patients health, failure of patients respiratory system with one or two days of fever are some of the marked differences between the second wave of COVID-19 and its first wave. Talking to The Sentinel, DME (Director of Medical Education, Assam) Dr Anup Kumar Barman, who is also the Chairman of the State Death Audit Committee of COVID-19, said, A few infected patients in the current COVID-19 wave collapse within three or four days. The respiratory system gets damaged for a fever of one or two days. All the dead patients of this wave had pneumonia fever. The current COVID-19 trend in the State is rising.
Train coaches being sanitized by a worker at Guwahati railway station on Saturday
GUWAHATI: Covid-infected patients, who do not need hospitalization and are asymptomatic, are occupying a large chunk of the hospital beds in Assam. Unless the government quarantine facilities are revamped at the earliest, treatment of non-Covid patients may soon be hit.
The state government had closed down the quarantine facilities as the Covid situation had improved remarkably towards the end of 2020. The second wave has thrown up concerns about the occupancy of hospital beds by asymptomatic Covid patients, who don’t have adequate and safe home isolation facilities.
GUWAHATI: Covid-infected patients, who do not need hospitalization and are asymptomatic, are occupying a large chunk of the hospital beds in Assam. Unless the government quarantine facilities are revamped at the earliest, treatment of non-Covid patients may soon be hit.
The state government had closed down the quarantine facilities as the Covid situation had improved remarkably towards the end of 2020. The second wave has thrown up concerns about the occupancy of hospital beds by asymptomatic Covid patients, who don’t have adequate and safe home isolation facilities.
Executive director, Assam National Health Mission, Dr Manoj Choudhury, told TOI on Saturday that an estimated 60-70% of the admitted Covid cases at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital are asymptomatic. “Some cases may be mildly symptomatic but we have seen that a greater percentage of the hostilized Covid cases are asymptomatic this time,” he said.
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Assam Government has asked doctors and nurses working in the seven government medical colleges, three dental colleges and two nursing colleges to strictly adhere to the two-child policy to help in controlling burgeoning population of the State.
Towards this end, the Director of Medical Education (DME), Assam, Dr Anup Kumar Barman recently dashed off letters to Principals and Superintendents of the Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH), Assam Medical College & Hospital (AMCH), Dibrugarh, Silchar Medical College & Hospital (SMCH), Jorhat Medical College & Hospital (JMCH), Tezpur Medical College & Hospital (TMCH), Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College & Hospital (FAAMCH), Barpeta Medical College & Hospital (BMCH) and Diphu Medical College & Hospital (DMCH). The letter has asked the Principals and Superintendents to ensure total execution of the government policy on small-family norms among the doctors and the nurses.
Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma
GUWAHATI: Alarming daily upsurge in Covid cases has become a matter of concern in many states, but Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said there is no possibility of going back to lockdown days in the poll-bound state now.
Though less than 0.1% positive cases are being reported for quite some time in the state, the health department is carrying out 15,000-16,000 tests per day. The department said this vigil has been remarkable in bringing down the number of cases. As the gateway to the northeast, the Assam government has been on its toes for months to arrest the spread. Covid screening at airports and major railway stations have contributed immensely to filtering out positive cases. In addition to this is adherence to home and institutional isolation rules, which has brought down daily positive cases below 25 for the last one week.