KOCHI: The surge in Covid cases in Ernakulam with each passing day would make meeting the oxygen requirements of Covid patients a challenging task for the district administration.Health officials said the district at present needs over 20-25 tonnes of oxygen daily. However, arrangements need to be scaled up as cases continue to rise.
At present, oxygen distribution is done from PVS Hospital, Ernakulam Medical College Hospital and Cochin International Airport Limited, where plants have been set up. As of now, small hospitals require 35-45 cylinders daily. This will go up if the number of patients in the district increases.
The district’s overall test positivity rate (TPR) was 35.7%, while it was above 50% in 12 panchayats, including Chellanam, Kadamakudy, Pallipuram and Thuravoor, which is also a concern. As of Wednesday, over 4,200 Category B and C Covid patients were under treatment in private and government facilities across the district.
District Collector S Suhas said the coming two weeks would be crucial for the district. “We hope that the newly set up 1,000-bed facility at Ambalamugal will provide some relief. So far, we were able to handle the oxygen requirement in the district. We have a buffer stock of oxygen for emergencies. While panchayats with above 50% TPR are definitely a concern, we could bring down their number from 18 to 12 in two days,” said Suhas.
The aim is to set up 3,000 oxygen beds in the district in the coming days. Officials said steps have already been taken to set up more facilities. In the first phase, 500 beds each will be set up near BPCL and in Adlux treatment centre and 400 beds in various primary and community health centres, they said.
“Around 100 beds have been set up in various primary and community health centres. Efforts are on to set up the remaining beds as well. With the cooperation of BPCL and CII, 1,500 oxygen beds have been set up in the district. A facility with 150 oxygen beds has also been set up at the super-speciality block of Ernakulam General Hospital,” said DMO Dr N K Kuttapan. Health officials said of the nearly 8,963 normal beds, 4,386 oxygen beds, 1,570 ICU beds and 328 ventilator beds identified in both private and government sectors, 7,680 beds as of now have been kept aside for Covid treatment.
1.37 lakh COVAXIN DOSES REACH DIST
Kochi: The much-awaited Covaxin doses purchased by the state government arrived at the Kochi airport on Wednesday. The vaccine was bought from Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech. Kerala Medical Cooperation received the 1,37,580 vaccine doses, which were later handed over to the health department. Over 9 lakh people have been vaccinated in the district so far. While 5,98,835 got vaccinated from private hospitals, 3,03,337 received the vaccine from government hospitals.
Health workers: 1,32,952
Frontline workers: 79,769
Between 45-60 years: 2,33,721
Above 60 years: 4,55,621
Covid patients being treated at various hospitals and care centres in the district as on Wednesday
MCH, Kalamassery 186
PVS Memorial Hosp 81
GH Muvattupuzha 43
DH Aluva 81
GH Ernakulam 54
Palluruthy taluk hospital 42
Tripunithura taluk hospital 47
Paravoor taluk hospital 35
Fort Kochi taluk hospital 51
Perumbavoor taluk hospital 43
Kothamangalam taluk hospital 22
Karuvelipady taluk hospital 8
Sanjivani 87
Private hospitals 2,570
FLTCs 458
SLTCs 479
Domiciliary care centres 372