Odisha Govt Clarifies ‘Don’t Rush COVID-19 Patients To Bhubaneswar-Cuttack’ Order

Bhubaneswar: Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy on Wednesday issued a clarification on the Odisha government order, directing district authorities not to rush COVID-19 cases to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

He tweeted that the government has not banned the movement of patients to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

“The government has created advanced COVID hospital facilities in the twin cities for people of the entire state. It is only regulating to ensure that the patients travel safe and with proper medical advice and oxygen support,” he said.

He further said that carelessness about these matters had led to serious consequences in the past. “Referral of the patients with proper medical support will be helpful in further management of the disease at the referral points and will save their life,” he added.

On Tuesday, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, PK Mohapatra had directed the authorities to manage critical COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) or high dependency unit (HDU) initially instead of referring them to Bhubaneswar or Cuttack.

Also Read: Odisha Govt Directs Districts To Take Care Of Critical COVID-19 Patients

In a letter to senior officials in charge of COVID-19 management in Odisha, Development Commissioner Suresh Mohapatra had also said the available COVID-care facilities at the district level must be utilised to the fullest before referring a patient to the COVID hospitals in Bhubaneswar.

Also Read: Don’t Rush COVID-19 Patients To Bhubaneswar Hospitals, Odisha Govt Tells Districts

With 4,568 active cases in Bhubaneswar and 2,193 cases in Cuttack city till Tuesday, the twin cities have now become COVID-19 hotspots with hospitals struggling to admit new patients.

The rush of patients from other hotspot districts such as Puri, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Kendrapara and Jajpur due to perceived better care in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, has worsened the COVID-19 situation here.

According to a Hindustan Times report, just about 20 per cent of the beds are occupied by patients from both these cities while the rest have been taken over by people from other districts.