Govt adds ‘home’ to treatment plan
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The accelerating spread of Covid-19 has prompted the state government to consider making a major change to its patient management strategy. Asymptomatic persons could receive treatment at home, should cases spiral out of hand and if patients reside in places easily accessible to quality medical attention.
“As 60 per cent of Covid-19 patients are asymptomatic, treating them in their homes could be considered. It will be implemented if the number of patients rises uncontrollably,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. TNIE had reported on June 28 that the Covid-19 expert committee headed by Dr B Ekbal had suggested that asymptomatic and mild cases be treated at home, subject to certain conditions.
The chief minister said, “It is an option. But only those who are able to seek immediate medical attention near their place of residence should be allowed treatment at home. For now, those who are asymptomatic or show mild symptoms will be admitted to Covid First-Line Treatment Centres.”His statement came on a day when the fresh case count — 593 — fell by nearly 200 from the previous day’s tally of 791.
364 new local contact cases, 157 in T’Puram
Meanwhile, local transmission remains a concern with 364 new cases, 157 of them in Thiruvananthapuram. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan lauded convalescent plasma therapy as a successful model after it helped some critically ill Covid-19 patients recover. He also hailed the services of the state’s first plasma bank at the Government Medical College Hospital in Manjeri, Malappuram, for having met demands from various parts of the state.
“Such banks collect convalescent plasma from those who have recovered. It is considered to be rich in antibodies against SARS CoV-2. Fifty recovered patients have donated plasma while 200 are waiting to do so,” he said. On July 10, TNIE had stressed on the need to set up plasma banks even at the regional level to treat Covid patients. While 364 of the 593 new cases recorded on the day were attributed to local transmission, the source of infection remains unknown in 36 cases.
Among those tested positive, 116 arrived from abroad and 90 from other states. Nineteen health workers and one person each from the DSC and the fire force also turned positive. The Covid death toll in the state rose to 40 after the test results of two persons — Arul Das,70, who died on July 11 and Baburaj, 60, who died on July 16 in Thiruvananthapuram —turned positive.Meanwhile, two Covid deaths have also been reported in the district. Arul Das, 70, who died on July 11 and Baburaj, 60, who died on July 16 are the deceased. They tested positive in the test done after their deaths. Thiruvananthapuram, 173, registered the most number of new cases. A total of 204 people recovered on the day. With 20 new hotspots, the tally of active hotspots went up to 299.