DC Hailakandi convenes District Level Critical Care Committee

August 18: With a view to keeping a proper tab on the asymptomatic COVID-19 patients under home isolation and to monitor their health parameters twice a day, a dedicated 24X7 call centre has been made operational with immediate effect. Chairing a meeting of the District Level Critical Care Committee here in the late evening on Monday, Deputy Commissioner, Megh Nidhi Dahal directed the health authorities to make the dedicated call centre at SK Roy Civil Hospital operational within hours to be manned by doctors and nurses to check on the health status of the asymptomatic COVID patients under home isolation twice a day to prevent complicacies from taking place.

Dahal asked the health functionaries to collect mobile numbers of other family members of the COVID-19 patient to know about his or her health condition. There are altogether 89 asymptomatic COVID-19 persons under home isolation as per the health bulletin released on Monday evening. Reviewing on a case-to-case basis COVID afflicted persons under COVID Care Centres and isolation wards of hospitals, Deputy Commissioner, Dahal said proper monitoring of health parameters of the patients must be conducted to prevent sudden deterioration in condition in view of two recent cases in which the patients did not survive for long.

Dahal exhorted the health officials and functionaries to make optimum and judicious use of the resources and wherewithal at their disposal to provide the best and timely medical care and treatment to the affected persons. He asked the health authorities to engage the newly appointed 14 nurses and 10 laboratory technicians together with trained ANMs, GNMs and other paramedics in swab collection exercise to meet the targeted 2,000 RAT testing per day. Dahal directed the Incharge of BPHCs of Algapur and Katlicherra, including Urban Centre to step up swab testing.

Underscoring the need to step up random swab testing especially in commercial areas where the positivity rate is high, Dahal instructed the health functionaries to prevail upon the people to come forward voluntarily to get their swab tested for their own good, their near and dear ones and for the society at large. “Prevail upon those who haven’t given swab to get tested and not to force them in any manner. If someone resist and adopts a recalcitrant posture despite overtures then his house will be declared as containment zone for 14 days,” he said.

The Deputy Commissioner said the administration has no problem whatsoever if an asymptomatic COVID person opts for home isolation provided he fulfills certain conditions laid down. In the same vein, he pointed out that persons having COVID-19 symptoms and staying at home must come to the COVID Care Centres or hospitals for treatment or else ‘there will be little time to respond at a later stage’.

Following complaints from health functionaries that some persons are obstructing people from coming forward to get their swab tested, Dahal assured them firm legal action would be taken against those putting spanner in the way of testing of swab. Dahal also asked the health workers to contact the Circle Officer and the Sectoral Magistrate in case they faced any problem in discharging their duties.

Dahal emphasised on the need to identify and isolate COVID-19 positive persons and to step up contact tracing to prevent further community transmission. “Random swab testing and instant isolation of positive cases are the panacea to containing the disease. Otherwise, our whole purpose will be defeated,” he quipped. After due deliberations, the committee decided to shift the asymptomatic patients with no co-morbidities from the isolation wards of hospitals to COVID Care Centres to make rooms for the symptomatic patients. It was also decided that no frontline health workers would be allowed to go in for home isolation and they would have to get themselves treated in COVID Care Centre.

Dahal also inquired about the food and other arrangements, including cleanliness with the concerned officers incharge of COVID Care Centres. The Deputy Commissioner instructed them to provide locally available fruits to the inmates. The Deputy Commissioner said that the administration would approach charitable organisations to provide ration to needy persons under home quarantine or in containment zone and in case there is none the administration would extend gratuity relief as per manual.

District Development Commissioner, Vikram Dev Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Health, EL Faihraem, SDO (Sadar), Jyotirmoy Daimari, Circle Officer, Hailakandi, Tridib Roy, Circle Officer attached to Hailakandi, Shoma Roy, Assistant Commissioner, Parikshit Phukan, Joint Director, Health Services, Dr. A Barman, District Media Expert, Monica Das, District Programme Manager, NHM, Maruf Alom Barbhuiya, Superintendent of SK Roy Civil Hospital, Dr. Sudip Chakraborty, incharge of BPHCs and other health functionaries were present in the meeting.