‘India’s clinical protocol has kept death rate low’

NEWDELHI: India’s clinical protocol has focused on early detection through widespread testing, surveillance, prompt triaging and clinical management of cases. This has resulted in one of the lowest case fatality rate of 2.66%, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday after inspecting the 10,000-bed Covid Care Centre in Chhatarpur. Apart from inspecting the centre, the health minister also interacted with 12 patients admitted at the facility after donning a personal protective gear. He also reviewed the hygiene and sanitation conditions in the facility. The inspection was a part of a series of reviews that the health minister has been carrying out of various dedicated Covid-19 health facilities on Sundays for a few months now. “Our success can be seen in the recovery rate which is almost 63% with more than 5.3 lakh patients recovered,” said Harsh Vardhan. The facility that started on July 5 has 123 cases with mild symptoms. According to the staff members, only five patients were serious enough to be referred to a hospital for advance treatment.

Out of 10,200 beds at the facility, 2,000 are currently in use.

About 91 doctors are deployed at the centre, who work on a rotation basis in three shifts, and are available around the clock. The medical team is sent for quarantine after 8 days and new staff comes to replace them. Also, 10 per cent of medical personnel are kept as contingency reserve.

In-house psychological counselling and psychiatry services are being provided by counsellors trained at the NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences). Daily meditation and yoga sessions are also conducted for the patients, and the facility also follows naturopathy and protocols of Ayurveda to boost immunity. Telemedicine support is being provided by referral hospital, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).