PUDUCHERRY: With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in Puducherry, the elective outpatient services in all the medical and surgical specialties at JIPMER will function exclusively on an appointment basis from April 9 (Friday).
According to a release from the JIPMER Director, this arrangement has been made due to the recent rapid surge in COVID-19 cases and it is necessary to avoid overcrowding in the hospital OPD to prevent disease spread.
All seriously ill patients would continue to be attended in the emergency services without the need for an appointment, he said.
To book an appointment, a person seeking consultation can call the phone number for the particular speciality (list available at JIPMER website: www.jipmer.edu.in) or use the “Hello JIPMER” app on an Android phone. The doctors will provide tele-consultation and will send an SMS (short message service) message for a hospital visit to the registered phone number of those whose medical or surgical condition requires it.
Only the patients (up to 100 per department per day) with SMS appointment on their phones will be permitted to visit the OPD for in-person consultation. Only one attender will be allowed per patient. All the patients and attenders must wear masks in the hospital. All members of the public are requested to co-operate and help fight the pandemic, he said.
IGMCRI closed for non-COVID patients
The Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Research Institute (IGMCRI) here has closed down all non-COVID services in the hospital with effect from April 7.
According to a circular from the hospital, this is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among healthcare workers and exposing non-COVID patients to the virus in the wake of the surge in cases here.
COVID-19 cases continue to spike
COVID-19 cases continue to spike with 173 more persons testing positive for the virus and one death reported in the last 24 hours ending at 10 am on Wednesday, taking the tally of infection to 42949 and deaths to 687 in the Union territory.
The lone death was reported in Puducherry region.
According to the COVID-19 status for Wednesday released by the health department, 168 new cases were reported in Puducherry region and five in Karaikal region.
Presently, 382 persons are being treated in Puducherry region, 56 in Karaikal, 12 in Yanam and three in Mahe. Another 1367 positive cases are under home isolation in all the four regions of the Union territory.
So far, 42949 persons were infected by the virus, of which 40442 were treated and discharged and 687 died, leaving 1820 active cases here. The case fatality rate in the UT is 1.60 percent and recovery rate 94.16 percent.
A 67-year-old man Natarajan, with Type II Diabetes mellitus, Systemic Hypertension and Bronchial Asthma, died in the government medical college due to Covid Pneumonia and Dyselectrolytemia.
As many as 82815 persons were given the COVID-19 vaccine so far in the UT. This includes 28342 health care workers, 16291 frontline workers and 38182 members of the public.