After six months since Pune reported the first Covid-19 case in Maharashtra, the city’s Covid count on Sunday surpassed the 1 lakh mark, while the Pune district already surpassed Mumbai in the total number of cases. of Covid. Yogesh Joshi of the Hindustan Times spoke with Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope about the situation in Pune, Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra. Below are the excerpts:
The Pune cases have reached the 1 lakh mark. How do you see the situation here?
Pune has almost peaked when it hit the 1 lakh mark. Now the city’s new case count should drop from now on and I am very optimistic about the situation in Pune. Having seen the graph of various cities around the world, I can tell you that all cities reach the top at some point and then stagnate before the count goes down. This has been a global trend in the Covid situation and Pune will be no exception.
While cases are on the rise, the bed situation in Pune city and the rest of the district has eased somewhat.
As a government, it is a duty to be prepared for the worst. Now we have been preparing for the worst in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. As part of our efforts, we have established giant facilities in both cities, each with 800 beds. Both have been put into operation now. Now there is no shortage of beds and we are increasing our bed capacity even further.
In addition to Pune and PCMC, rural areas are also reporting cases in higher numbers.
This is because the virus is spreading in nearby areas and we cannot control it. Covid-19 is a very contagious disease. Can we prevent people from leaving home? No. In Maharashtra, we started the closure before the Center and extended it until June. We are now in unlock mode.
Are you satisfied with the fatality rate (CFR) for Pune?
This is a contagious disease and it will spread. While spread is not a huge concern, even if it creates a terrifying situation, what we need to pay more attention to is the case fatality rate (CFR). In Pune, the CFR is below normal and currently stands at 2.4%. Considering that Pune has reported 1 lakh of cases, the 2.4 percent CFR is not bad. The Covid death rate has always been around 3 percent. The doubling rate has also increased and is almost 30, while the recovery rate is almost 80 percent. So, on most parameters, the situation in Pune is under control. For the administration, whatever the guidelines, notifications have been issued; it will have to be enforced in letter and spirit. Whether the government occupies 80% of the beds, the order must be implemented correctly. At the same time, we have prescribed rates, either for treatment or RT-PCR tests. These things must be properly monitored by management. Also about the availability of drugs, there is no problem, since Remdesivire and Tociluzumab are in a large quantity. From the government side, we have to see preparation and we are prepared for the worst even as the numbers are increasing.
In Pune, the number of people succumbing to the virus is growing along with the number of positive cases.
People die from two main reasons: comorbidities and late detection or lack of knowledge. Many people report late due to stigma. If we look at the situation in any district in Maharashtra, most people die within 48 hours of being reported because they reported late. Many people do not come forward, even if the health department is doing everything it can to aggressively track contact and identify affected patients. The three things that I think are most important are information, education and communication and we should always insist on this.
When unlocking, we still have to relax the sidewalks in many things, including temples, gyms, or electronic passes for travel.
We have taken a staggered opening approach. Prime Minister Uddhavji Thackeray is conservative in opening things up. There is a demand and the political parties have made an agitation.
Is there a possibility that gyms, temples and other similar sites will open in September?
We have to do it sometime. We need to take a call about this because a lot of things have already been opened. But the prime minister is very conservative on this.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar supports the opening, but the CM takes a different stance.
Well, we have to find the median between what Sharad Pawarji says and what CM thinks. We cannot open everything 100%, which will allow the virus to spread even quickly and create a burden on the healthcare infrastructure. We will only gain a bad reputation if people cannot find beds in hospitals. We have to do it slowly. Unopened as well, we have 14,000-15,000 boxes daily in Maharashtra. On Saturday, the state reported 16,867 cases in one day.
In Mumbai, daily cases are increasing once again.
In a big city like Mumbai, with a population of around 1.5 crore, if 100-200 adds more or less to the count, it is not a point of concern at all, although it shows a trend that cases are increasing. However, I don’t think it is a second wave indication.
There are a couple of other places that can serve as examples. Dharavi in Mumbai and Malegaon in northern Maharashtra have shown how cases can be controlled. In Malegaon which has a population of 3 lakh living in a congested place, its population density is 19,000 people per square kilometer and it is highest in Maharashtra, we have been able to control it. I think we are heading towards herd immunity in these places.
Are we achieving herd immunity in other places too?
Ultimately, all these places where the bill drops, we will achieve herd immunity. We approach 25-30 percent of people who get infected. This goes in the direction of achieving herd immunity. Once most people are immune to the virus, I don’t think new positive cases will emerge in this way.
Surveys conducted with sero showed that 51.50% and 57% of the people in Pune and Mumbai were exposed to Sars-Cov-2 and recovered due to the antibodies produced. How do you see the stage?
Even if the sample size of these two Sero surveys was relatively small, they collected samples from several areas. In Pune, the survey covered people from slums and non-slums. It definitely has some meaning. Give an indication.
In rural and semi-rural areas of Maharashtra, more and more cases are emerging.
The cases are definitely increasing in rural Maharashtra. However, I can say with certainty that the outlook is not scary, as more than 80% of people are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. The number of critical or serious patients is around 2 percent. If we take precautions, each of us can defeat Covid-19.
On the broader side, how optimistic are you about Maharashtra?
I am 100% optimistic and, at the same time, my department and I are prudent and alert to face any eventuality. Now that the six months have passed, most of the front-line staff are working non-stop.
There have been complaints that hospitals charge too much or that doctors do not open clinics
Doctors must have empathy and sympathy when treating patients. Most of the 5.5 lakh of recovered patients who have returned home are due to treatment by doctors. However, there are some that require working in mission mode. They should not treat patients just for the sake of receiving treatment. It should come from the heart. We are witnessing that in some places, doctors are not treating patients properly, it may be because they are scared. A human touch is required when treating patients. I constantly tell you that everything depends on you, since we, as laypeople, cannot treat anyone. Doctors must have a caring and caring approach. All of society depends on the medical fraternity.
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