Bhubaneswar: Self-reporting and self-monitoring are the keys to tackle the spread of COVID-19, said Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhary.
“COVID-19 management is a collaborative effort with the active support of individuals and communities. We have got a good amount of support from people in the city in whatever strategy we make but now, the time has come for focusing more on self-reporting and self-monitoring to contain the spread of the virus in our localities,” the Commissioner urged people of Bhubaneswar during his press briefing on Saturday afternoon at Gita Govinda Bhawan here.
This apart, the BMC Commissioner once again laid emphasis on taking care of senior citizens and persons with comorbidities. “Our priority is to save the lives of our senior citizens and persons with comorbidities. We must ensure that a caregiver or an attendant is available at every household to take care of the senior citizens,” he said
The Commissioner informed that 80 per cent of the total cases in Bhubaneswar are asymptomatic. “Now, we should promote and encourage home isolation more for COVID-19 patients who have been clinically assigned as very mild case or pre-symptomatic/asymptomatic,” Choudhary explained.
In the last ten days, 167 COVID-19 patients have been allowed to stay in home isolation after following the due procedures.
Seeking more support and participation from the public, the Commissioner further stressed adhering to COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing masks, social distancing and hand hydergine to contain the spread of coronavirus.
As many as 114 frontline workers, including doctors, nurses, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and sanitary staff, have tested positive for COVID-19 and 11 among them in the last 10 days.
Till Saturday (July 25), 1,828 COVID-19 cases have been reported in the city. With 11 deaths and 863 recoveries, the number of active cases stands at 952.
Of the total active cases, 64 persons are above 60 years old.
Among these, 418 positive cases are from slum while 1,410 persons have tested positive from non-slum areas in Bhubaneswar, which has 764 symptomatic and 1,064 asymptomatic cases.
Only eleven people are receiving treatment in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at different hospitals while four people are on ventilator support, a BMC press release said.
According to July 15 to July 25 data, the BMC recorded 969 positive cases, of which 873 are active and 95 persons have been cured. As many as 201 cases are from slum and 657 from non-slum areas during this period.
Meanwhile, the BMC has ramped up sample collection mainly from slum areas, communities, enclaves and organisations besides stressing on proactive surveillance and contact tracing.
Four slums – Sitapur and Trinath Basti, Ganapati Basti in Nayapalli and Harinagar Basti – are under containment zone restrictions.
The BMC, however, faces some challenges such as large floating population, management of industries, and critical health cases of hotspot districts. People from Bhubaneswar with travel history to the hotspot districts have also contributed to the rise in COVID-19 positive cases.
Facilities in the offing
The BMC has decided to set up a 60-bed COVID Care Centre (CCC) at Dumduma UCHC to accommodate more patients who need medical attention. Besides, the city-based Aditya Ashwini Hospital has agreed to set up 150 bed inclusive of 31 ICU unit DCH.
Similarly, corporate houses and industrial sector have been approached to help set up 250 bedded CCCs and various NGOs have expressed willingness to set up 100-bed CCHs.
Besides, three MLAs have extended help to BMC by setting up 50-bed CCH each in respective MLA constituencies. And, three RWAs (Vipul Garden Ghatikia, BMC Bhavani Enclave and Utkal Royal Residency) have expressed interest in setting up 25-bed CCH each
Religious institutions like Gurudwara, Christian and Muslim associations have also come forward and agreed to set up 200-bed CCH in the city, the release added.
