To fight COVID: joint strategy needed

August 10, 2020 70 Views No Comment

Staff Reporter DIMAPUR, AUG 9 (NPN): As the state government’s efforts to take up the main responsibility in tackling COVID-19 is proving to be hugely insufficient against the face of mounting cases, a strategic alliance with private hospitals, nursing homes and medical practitioners in Dimapur will hugely benefit the objective.

The government of Nagaland may look to private hospitals, nursing homes and practitioners to engage them in tackling COVID-19through a joint strategy. As Dimapur has the highest number of COVID-19 cases as well as those under hospitalisation, government institutions are overcrowded and medical staff over worked.

A joint strategy is the need of the hour in preparing for the post-lockdown period where the focus would have to shift to treatment and care.

In order to mitigate the problems faced by government care centres and hospitals, it may be worthwhile to suggest that a new and dedicated 100-bedded COVID-19 hospital be opened at Chümoukedima for COVID-19 patients and for which adequate funds be allocated. This will free the District Hospital Dimapur to enable it to restart its normal functioning.

Next, an MoU can be entered with all private hospitals and nursing homes where the government can install TrueNat testing machines to be made available for testing COVID-19 cases. Presently it is difficult for private hospitals to obtain ICMR permission for installing TrueNat machines. However, if the state government installs them, then this will overcome the difficult and time consuming process. Under such a strategy, government may also provide required facilities for treatment of COVID-patients and subsidise cost of hospitalisation. The common strategy should also include a guarantee against discrimination of COVID-19 patients in all medical facilities so as to not discourage COVID-19 patients from coming out openly for treatment.

A joint and strategic alliance between government and private hospitals, nursing homes and private practitioners will also help information sharing and research on the ground reality for suitable planning and follow-up actions. Containing the spread of COVID-19 in Nagaland through contact tracing is practically a herculean task because one person can be the source of transmission to multiple persons. For instance, if a COVID-19 positive transmits the virus to two persons and each of them in turn, transmit the virus to two more, the number of COVID-19 cases will multiply and increase manifold.

Contact tracing involves identifying, interviewing and then testing scores of people many of who could be asymptomatic. Transmission is not restricted from person to person within office room or building but also through contacts with contaminated surfaces or objects in public places such as shops or malls or market places.

Several people who were tested positive for COVID-19 recently could not identify from whom they contracted the virus as it could have been from customers or visitors to their work places.

The recent guideline issued by the government of India to states, to do COVID-19 testing on vegetable vendors and shopkeepers was an impracticable solution. This would mean that the vendors and shopkeepers will have to be tested every week for COVID-19.

This illustrates the problems faced in contact tracing. As per World Health Organization (WHO), any COVID-19 patient without travel history or not knowing source of transmission falls under ‘community transmission’. However the government of India is steadfast in denying it even though there is huge spike in transmission in the region of over 60,000 per day. The total COVID-19 cases in India, as on August 9, stands at over 21 lakh up from only 560 cases on March 24,2020.

According to one doctor involved with containing COVID-19, the virus is on indiscriminate transmission mode. He said whether it is ‘local transmission’ or ‘community transmission’ or as central health officials desperately insist, that it is between ‘Local and Community Transmission,’ the fact is the virus is unstoppable and those falling sick need to be looked after.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/to-fight-covid-joint-strategy-needed/220360.html