KOCHI: Ernakulam district has all the facilities ready to handle any increase in Covid-19 cases in the coming days, said officials. A meeting chaired by Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar, who is in charge of coordinating Covid-19 prevention activities in the district, evaluated the existing facilities on Thursday.
At present, there are 13,000 beds in government and private hospitals in the district, of which 7,636 beds are vacant. There are 1,236 ICUs and 373 ventilators, of which 672 ICUs and 284 ventilators are ready for treating Covid-19 patients.
Sunil Kumar said quarantine facility will be provide to people arriving from other states and those who don’t have quarantine facility at home. They can stay in places arranged by local self-governing bodies. If the facilities are not available, people arriving from other states will be lodged at Covid Care Centres, he said.
People with Covid-19 symptoms will be kept in hospital isolation. If their samples turn positive, their treatment will commence in the isolation rooms. The Government Medical College Hospital at Kalamassery can examine up to 150 samples a day. As part of sentinel surveillance, 30 samples are collected daily from people staying in Covid Care Centres. District Collector S Suhas and top officials from the health, revenue and police departments attended the meeting.
Ward-level quarantine facilities soon
Kochi: With more people arriving from other states and vehicle movement permitted, district administration has decided to start quarantine facilities at the ward level. A meeting chaired by Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar took the decision. For this, vacant buildings and houses identified by local self-government bodies will be utilised.
Committees will be formed at panchayat and ward levels to monitor quarantine facilities. People lacking quarantine arrangements at homes will be lodged at the ward-level facilities. Meanwhile, the administration officials said incidents of residents harassing people coming from other states will not be allowed. Also, a coordination centre will be started at Kaloor to evaluate Covid-19 prevention and other activities, including pre-monsoon works. In the wake of monsoon, relief camps will be started following all Covid-19 protocols. LSG bodies have been permitted to clean canals and drains before the monsoon.