5 days ago
Symptoms mild but Cov admissions rise, hosps expand isolation facilities
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Kolkata: The spike in Covid patients in Kolkata and the rest of Bengal makes the elderly with comorbidities and children, especially those who suffered an adenovirus infection or pneumonia over the past three years, vulnerable to the existing Covid strains, say pulmonologists.
Patients, suffering from associated respiratory illnesses, such as recurring bouts of asthma, frequent bronchitis, COPD or respiratory distress, were at a greater risk of getting Covid, they warned.
Several private hospitals have started expanding their Covid units.
While the infection might be mild for most, if numbers kept rising at the current rate, a significant section could get a severe disease, said CMRI Hospital pulmonology director Raja Dhar.
"As the elderly and children are more vulnerable, the number of affected will swell, leading to a rise in severe cases. So, we need to isolate positives to curb transmission and ramp up testing, prevention measures and isolation facilities.
Else, we will have an explosion of patients as a small number of severe cases could also be huge in our country," Dhar said. Five Covid patients are now admitted to CMRI, which has identified 14 beds, which could be scaled up to 32, if need be.
Dhar added the current strain, believed to be Jn.1, a variant of Omicron, was highly transmissible though less virulent.
Peerless Hospital has identified a ward with a dialysis facility and earmarked an eight-bed ITU for severe cases. The hospital now has two patients admitted, both stable. "We can accommodate five to 10 stable Covid patients immediately and at least eight severe patients at an ITU that can be converted," said Peerless CEO Sudipta Mitra.
Two Covid patients are now admitted to RN Tagore Hospital, both stable. "If the numbers rise exponentially, severe cases will also go up. In terms of percentage, the number could be small, but in absolute numbers, we may have more severe cases over the next fortnight," said RN Tagore intensivist Sauren Panja.
Covid patients at Manipal Hospitals were released by Sunday. "Our Dhakuria, Mukundapur and Salt Lake Broadway units each has an isolation unit.
We are contemplating an isolation area to segregate suspected cases," said Manipal infectious diseases physician Sayan Chakrabarty. He added while symptoms remained muted, faster transmission might change the scene. "Those with lung ailments have the risk of aggravation if they get Covid.
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At Charnock Hospital, a 'wider clinical team' has been set up. "Use of hand sanitisers and masks at the hospital has been reinstated. The hospital is setting up isolation wards and ICU beds for confirmed or suspected Covid cases. Patients with symptoms are being screened," said a Charnock spokesperson. Woodlands Multispecialty Hospital, which has identified a five-bed isolation unit, has one Covid patient admitted.
"If numbers rise, we will use it. We have stepped up preventive measures and ramped up tests," said CEO Rupak Barua.
