‘Don’t take curbs lightly, state likely to hit peak next week’
Amid the raging second Covid-19 wave that has led to an unprecedented surge in fresh cases and fatalities, the spotlight is back on Punjab’s crumbling health infrastructure that looks grossly inadequate to take care of criticallyill patients.
With people scrambling for oxygen and intensive care unit (ICU) beds and vaccination drive in disarray due to stocks running dry in many districts, Hindustan Times spoke to former Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, director KK Talwar, who heads the government’s expert group on Covid, about the current scenario and the way forward.
When are we expecting the state to hit the Covid peak?
The situation is grim but I won’t say things are going out of hands like we are witnessing in many other states. If we follow this regulatory lockdown strictly for next 7-10 days, we can see the curve flattening. Next week is going to be crucial as the state is likely to hit the peak during this period.
There are concerns over increasing deaths in home isolation in villages. Why CFR is more in rural areas this time?
The only reason behind high CFR is the reluctance for testing and taking Covid restrictions lightly. Initially, our testing rate was very poor in villages. High death rate can be attributed to the fact that the people are coming to the health facilities in the last stage of the infection. The key is to manage the virus in the initial 10 days. We have now changed some home isolation rules.
What is this new strategy for home isolation? we will be focusing more on home isolation patients and our experts would reach out to them thrice a day. Helplines have also been started at the sub-division level for such patients. We have also decided that in case the patient feels some problem in home isolation, he would be immediately shifted to a nearby health facility. Specials tab will be kept on patients with comorbidities.
Do you think continuous movement due to farmer agitation has made things worse in the hinterland? Have experts ever raised concern over such protests?
I can only say that every gathering is a cause of concern for the spread, be it a farmer agitation, any other religious activity or even a marriage or a dinner party. I can’t comment why this movement has not stopped. That is not my domain.
Punjab’s vaccination drive appears to have hit hurdles. Initially people were reluctant and now the delay in supply for 18-plus age category has further affected it. In sharp comparison, our neighbour Haryana is far
ahead of us?
The shift in strategy for the availability of the vaccine by the central government has hit our drive. We expect supplies to get better in the coming days. For 18-plus category, 30 lakh doses are likely to arrive in the second fortnight of this month. Every state has its own share of challenges when such big drives are launched.
There have been allegations from different quarters that Punjab failed to tackle the crisis. What have been state’s challenges?
Let me tell you, Punjab has done much better with the kind of health infrastructure we had a year ago. Our testing has been remarkably high, with focus on tracking the virus. In April, we were testing around 40,000 samples a day, now we are testing 60,000. That is also the reason in an increase in caseload as we are detecting more. And let’s not forget, Punjab is providing treatment to patients from other states also. A chunk of patients are coming to Punjab for treatment. We have been keeping a close eye on mutations and Punjab was the first state to raise alarm over UK variant and give evidence that this variant was affecting young people.
There are reports about the exponential rise in patients needing O2 in past few days? Do you apprehend a crisis in the making?
Oxygen is a key component in Covid management. So, when the caseload goes up, the demand for O2 also increases. The chief Minister has been raising concern over it time and again. Authorities are also trying to get the allotment in best possible short time. At the expert level, we have taken some steps for the best management of the stock available with us.