BERHAMPUR: In the midst of rising fatalities caused by flu and fever in rural parts of Ganjam district, people are making a beeline for quacks instead of hospitals in fear of contracting coronavirus. Many patients are staying back at home and avail treatment from quacks due to COVID-19 fear. They approach hospitals at the last minute giving very little time to doctors to treat them.
As per norms, police must be apprised of deaths at hospitals. However, to avoid the lengthy process, family of deceased patients are allowed to take home the body.Ganjam Collector Vijay Kulange had asked all drug stores not to sell medicines without prescriptions and record details of the buyers.
He too had directed the block development officers (BDOs) to keep details of persons dying due to non-Covid reasons. However, people are not sharing information of deaths with the administration fearing stigmatisation over COVID-19.
Sources said the MKCG Medical College and Hospital (MCH) has recorded several deaths but reasons shown are diseases other than Covid. As many as 47 deaths have been reported from general casualty alone. On July 24, the casualty received a total of 265 patients of whom 12 were declared brought dead and another five died during treatment.
Similarly, 183 patients reached the casualty on July 24 of whom three were brought dead and another four succumbed during treatment. On July 26, as many as 203 patients approached the casualty of the medical college. Three were brought dead while another 12 died during treatment.
Till 4 pm on Monday, 104 patients had reached the casualty and seven of them died under treatment. Hospital authorities said most of the critical cases reached the hospital during night and before any treatment could be started, the patients died.
Social activist V Santosh said patients with mild symptoms are not allowed for swab test by doctors and instead forced to go for urine test. As the process takes time, most of the patients die.
On the other hand, residents of urban areas allege that people suffering from ailments other than COVID-19 are denied admission by hospitals in Bhubaneswar despite instructions by the Government. It has become an uphill task to avail medical assistance during this pandemic, they rued.