COVID Resurgence In Odisha: COVID Hospitals Reopened In SCB, VIMSAR

Bhubaneswar: Amid a resurgence in COVID cases, SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and VIMSAR in Burla have reopened their designated wings to treat those infected with the virus.

Odisha saw a sharp spike in infections on Sunday with 51 people testing positive from three on May 31. The state has been reporting cases in double digits for over a week now.

According to sources, the dedicated COVID hospital (DCH) units 3 and 4 in SCB were reopened on Friday. Five beds have been kept ready at Unit 3 in Obstetrics and Gynaecology department for shifting infected expectant mothers. Anyone needing hospitalisation will be admitted to Unit 4 in the Pulmonary Medicine department with 15 beds, SCB administrative officer Abhinash Rout told the media.

There are 123 active cases in Khurda and 21 in Cuttack.

Similarly, COVID hospital-I on VISMAR has also been reopened with 10 beds to tackle a possible surge in cases. Sambalpur reported a lone case on Sunday and the district currently has 5 active cases.

However, the government’s decision to o reduce manpower deployed in containment measures, including surveillance, testing, tracking and treatment has left the health experts perplexed. An order issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department on June 17 stated, “Whereas there is a declining trend of COVID positive cases in the state, districts and medical colleges will follow the guidelines issued on March 29 and reduce manpower accordingly.”

At the same time, districts have been instructed to make COVID testing available in all health facilities and RT-PCR swab collection in all CHCs besides continuing the death audit as usual until further notice, sending mixed signals.

Notably, the number of testing has come down from a range of 20,000 last month to 10,000 now.