COVID-19 cases surge in Odisha's Sundargarh spark bed shortage fears

On Saturday evening, the district reported its highest singleday spike of 66 positive cases. A day before, Sundargarh had recorded 36 cases.
Healthcare workers in PPE suits(Photo | PTI)
Healthcare workers in PPE suits(Photo | PTI)

ROURKELA: The steep spike in coronavirus cases in Sundargarh district has led to apprehensions that the 200-bed Hi-Tech Covid-19 Hospital at Rourkela may soon get overwhelmed with patients and will be unable to handle the patient inflow.

On Saturday evening, the district reported its highest singleday spike of 66 positive cases. A day before, Sundargarh had recorded 36 cases.

Administrative sources informed that of the 66 new cases, 16 are frontline workers including 11 healthcare givers and five housekeeping personnel of Hi-Tech Covid-19 Hospital, BPUT Covid Care Centre and a few temporary medical centres (TMCs) of Bisra and Kuarnmunda blocks.

While 31 new patients have travel history and are symptomatic, three pregnant women also tested positive.

The rest 16 patients were direct contacts of previous positive cases including eight who were close to a patient who died of Covid-19 on Friday.

So far, Sundargarh has reported 322 positive cases with a substantial number of patients from Rourkela city.

As many as 144 cases are active now. Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan said the district has 715 isolation and 28 ICU beds including 25 in the dedicated Covid-19 hospital and 443 quarantine beds.

“Currently, we have sufficient stock of safety equipment and would be procuring more in future,” he said. Till Saturday, a total of 11,803 cases were tested in the district. Incidentally, the 200-bed Covid-19 hospital now has about 130 patients including asymptomatic patients.

Rourkela ADM Aboli Sunil Naravane said the administration is fully prepared and if needed, the Sundargarh district headquarters hospital would be utilised to treat Covid-19 patients.

“To save beds in the dedicated Covid-19 hospital for critical patients, asymptomatic and mild cases can be treated at multiple Covid Care Centres,” Naravane said. The Pantha Niwas complex is also getting readied for infected frontline workers and if required, option of home isolation for asymptomatic cases may be applied for Rourkela city only, she added.

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