A report prepared by the National Disease Control (NCDC) warned that the national capital must prepare to address the increase of 15,000 Covid-19 cases per day in the upcoming winters and festivals.
The report has highlighted three concerns that can cause undue pressure on health services. (i) winter months that aggravate respiratory diseases; (ii) patients may come from outside Delhi in large numbers; (iii) patients coming from distant areas are likely to be more severe. Also, with festival-related gatherings, there could be a sudden spike in cases.
The report has been produced by the NCDC under the supervision of Dr. VK Paul, president of NITI Aayog Member (Health).
The report recommended that the Delhi government prepare for a daily increase of approximately 15,000 positive coronavirus cases and arrange for hospital admissions of moderately and severely ill patients amounting to approximately 20 percent of this increase.
“The guidelines for the relative proportion of ICU beds, non-ICU beds, isolation beds from Covid Care should be in accordance with the guidelines provided in the third report from Empowered Group I,” the report says.
The report has spoken of preventing infections among healthcare workers.
“To date, around 2,324 of the healthcare workers have been affected due to Covid19 in Delhi, of which 23 percent are doctors, 34 percent are nurses, 15 percent are paramedics, 18 percent are group D personnel and 10 percent are others. A total of 75 deaths are reported in health workers, of which 14 are from doctors, which may be underreported. The increasing mortality of healthcare workers and doctors is detrimental to maintaining the morale of these Covid warriors. Therefore, every effort should be made to prevent healthcare-associated infection in all hospitals, laboratories, and field workers participating in an active survey in the containment zone. “
The report has highlighted the implementation of non-pharmaceutical measures and appropriate Covid behaviors such as a focus on masks, physical distancing and hygiene. Launch a massive campaign for 100% compliance with the masks. This would be the most important measure to prevent the spread of the virus in the future. A double strategy, persuasion and execution, must be followed, he said.
The NCDC in its ‘Revised strategy for the control of Covid-19 version 3.0’ has indicated that the contact tracing strategy should be more streamlined.
According to the report, Delhi has reported a total of 5,401 deaths to date. It has been mentioned that the reported average daily mortality ranges between 30 and 40 as of September 15. Higher mortality in the comorbid (66.6 percent) and the elderly is unavoidable and is reported in all states and around the world.
The NCDC has noted that Delhi needs to reduce mortality where possible should be one of the key goals of pandemic management, as the overall Covid-19 fatality rate in Delhi is 1.9 percent. , which is higher than the national average of 1.5. percent.
The report has recommended taking steps to minimize gatherings during upcoming festivals.
“Big meetings are high-profile events. These should be avoided. The upcoming festivals (Chhat, Puja, Dussehra, Deepavali, Id, Xmas, New year) pose a great challenge in controlling the pandemic. Onam in Kerala and Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra have been seen to seriously intensify the pandemic. This must not be allowed to happen in Delhi. Our emerging gains in case reduction will be reversed due to these holidays and the rush in the markets / towns. Such a potentially avoidable setback will damage the image of the capital and the country, “he said, adding that the next 3 months are crucial in our battle against the coronavirus.
The NCDC report has recommended that the Delhi government raise awareness among the people to develop a consensus to have these festivals with little or no gathering.
The NCDC report also recommended conducting a sero-survey that can be tentatively planned during the first week of November.
The NCDC has urged the Delhi government to focus on vulnerable populations that are elderly, comorbid patients and recommended a regular review of triage facilities and a training needs assessment for medical staff to classify patients according to severity of disease and facility selection risk assessment. (AND ME)
.
