THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Covid-19 pandemic is raging in the state capital with the daily increase in cases raising concerns about the adequacy of the infrastructure for treating positive patients.
In the last two days, over 1,300 new cases were reported in the district. According to sources, bed availability at the first-line treatment centres is dwindling fast.
As on Wednesday, 2,480 out of the total 3,496 beds at Covid First Line Treatment Centres (CFLTCs) in the district have been occupied. To add to this, a local body has come up with the request to shut down two of the total 27 CFLTCs in the district. According to the district health authorities, the daily number of positive cases in the district is likely to reach 1,000 in the near future. The district is also planning to increase the daily testing count to 5,000.
District Medical Officer (DMO) KS Shinu told The New Indian Express that the increase in positive cases is due to the tests being conducted by private hospitals now. On an average, 1,000 to 1,500 tests are being conducted in the private sector daily. Currently, around 500 patients are being treated in various private hospitals in the district.
The DMO added that the district is responding well to home care. "Around 1,800 people are already under home isolation, and that is likely to be 2000 soon. We will hit 10,000 patients in the coming weeks. Home isolation is the best option right now for asymptomatic patients," said Shinu.
Taking a turn for the worse
Recently, Kadinamkulam Panchayat had approached the district administration requesting to shut down the CFLTCs functioning at two educational institutions in their locality. Kadinamkulam Panchayat President P Felix said that the institutions have put forth this request.
"Currently, there are around 230 patients in the two CFLTCs at Vidyasadan Central School Maryanad and St Michael's Higher Secondary School. The higher secondary school has started admission for the new plus one batch and both of the managements want their facilities back for academic purposes. We have passed on the request to the district collector, but haven't received a response so far," he said.
This is not great news for the district authorities. DMO K S Shinu said that the CFLTCs are utilising the pandemic fund allocated by the state government. "The fund for running the CFLTCs are being sourced to respective local bodies from the general fund pool of the district disaster management authority (DDMA). The CFLTCs do not cater to particular areas. We have a staff shortage and the decision is to run big CFLTCs with the maximum number of beds," said K S Shinu.
According to him, there is no decision so far to shut down CFLTCs in Kadinamkulam panchayat. "We opened these facilities following a repeated request from the panchayat authorities and now they think the worst is over, and they want to get rid of the CFLTCs. If further tests reveal patients in the area, we will be forced to shift patients to far-away CFLTCs. People should understand the gravity of the situation," he added.
A senior official in the district administration said it's impossible to start more CFLTCs because of lack of human resources.
Count of facilities
(As on Wednesday, September 16)
Number of CFLTCs in the district - 27
Number of beds at CFLTCs - 3496
Number of occupied beds - 2480
Number of people being treated at private hospitals - 500
The average number of Covid-19 tests happening in the private sector- 1000 to 1500
Total number of people under home isolation - 1800
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