THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram district continues to paint a grim picture in terms of daily Covid cases as 7,896 more people tested positive on Friday, taking the active caseload to 54,280.Following the surge in the infection rate, the District Disaster Management Authority has ordered an increase in the number of beds set aside for Covid patients at the Government medical college hospital in Thiruvananthapuram from 205 to 400. The number of ICU beds has been increased from 21 to 42.
The MCH authorities have been asked to reduce the admission of patients with non-Covid diseases and to use more wards to treat the pandemic-affected.A special out-patient wing will be set up to examine and admit Covid patients who are critically ill (category C). The category B patients, after medical screening, will be shifted to the Covid Second-Line Treatment Centre (CSLTC) while the category A patients will be kept in home isolation. The Government ESI Hospital in Peroorkada has been designated as the referral centre for category B patients from MCH. Non-clinical doctors and staff will be deployed on Covid duty if the situation demands.
It has also been decided to open three new CSLTCs in the district. Patients with minimal symptoms will be treated there. The Peroorkada ESI Hospital, RIMS Hospital, Nedumangad, and Chenkal FHC have been designated as the new CSLTCs. The ESI Hospital has 60 beds while RIMS and Chenkal FHC have 80 and 50 beds, respectively. Twenty percent of beds in CSLTCs should be oxygen-supported, with the district infrastructure nodal officer asked to ensure that.
District Collector Navjot Khosa has banned political, social and religious gatherings till further notice, with more than 10% of those admitted to hospitals being Covid patients.As Thiruvananthapuram district falls under category B, the collector’s order said that not more than 20 people are allowed to take part in marriage and funeral functions.