Puri gears up to face Covid exigencies
PURI: Puri administration is gearing up to face exigencies as number of positive cases is witnessing a sudden surge, especially in Puri town. On Friday, 306 new cases were reported in the district, of which 142 belong to Puri town. The last five days saw a surge of 700 cases in the district.
Collector Samarth Verma told mediapersons that administration is ready to face any challenge with 500 beds available at five Covid Care Centres (CCCs) , one each in Gop, Konark, Brahmagiri and two in Puri town. That apart, a Covid hospital with 130 beds and 15 ICUs with 200 oxygen cylinders has been made operational at Infectious Diseases Hospital (IDH).
Additionally, an 80-bed CCC has been made operational at Gopabandhu Ayurvedic Medical College, Puri town having 28 Ayush doctors and paramedical staff to attend to patients. Around 13 rapid response teams have been deployed in Puri municipal area to cater to patients in home isolation and provide them with medicines and health kits. Five dedicated ambulances are placed at these centres.
Sanjay Kumar Dasburma, vice chairperson of the state planning board held an assessment meeting on Thursday with officials and doctors to review preparedness. He emphasised on the need to maintain coordination between referral hospitals and district Covid hospitals and cooperation among line departments to check the spread of the virus.
“A 24-hour Covid control room will be established at the earliest and tracking, testing and treatment should be given utmost priority. Strict vigil on entry points to the pilgrim city is a must and all temporary medical centres (TMCs) that were operational last year should be made ready for emergencies,” added Dasburma.
Sarat Kumar Raiguru, secretary of CPI(M) Puri district met Dasburma on Friday and handed over a charter of demands addressed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Raiguru alleged that RT-PCR testing and obtaining reports has been slow in the district. He further lamented how most patients were being prescribed home isolation and sent away from hospitals, causing inconvenience to the ones who don’t have adequate home quarantine facilities.