Nagpur to focus on antigen tests, critical cases in new strategy

NAGPUR: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation will admit asymptomatic patients in Covid care c e nt r e s while ot hers wit h moderate to severe symptoms will be treated in dedicated Covi d- 19 hospitals, ci vic chief Tukaram Mundhe said on Sunday.

High risk contacts of COVID-19 patients will now be kept in home isolation and only those f r o m c o ngest e d a r e a s a nd smaller homes will be kept in quarantine centres, Mundhe said while explaining NMC’S new strategy to fight the outbreak.

“NMC is focusing on increasing antigen tests, bed management and creating awareness to bring about behavioral change among people. We are now focusing on positive patients category-wise. Positive asymptomatic patients will be kept at Covid care centres. As cases increase, we need to focus on moderate to critical cases,” he told news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).

“We have capacity in government hospitals, including three major institutions, namely IGGMC [Indira Gandhi Government Medical College & Hospital] , GMCH [Government Medical College and Hospital] and AIIMS [All India Institutes of Medical Sciences ]. Most private hospitals will be working as dedicated Covid health care or DCH. In the days to come, five more hospitals will be activated,” Mundhe added.

He said antigen tests will be carried out on those showing symptoms of influenza like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI).

Private hospitals are being monitored to ensure patients are not overcharged, Mundhe said.

Civic authorities of Nagpur city announced a voluntary ‘janta curfew’ on Saturday and Sunday, when only essential services will remain functional.

The step has been taken to bring public awareness about behavioural change towards COVID-19 rules, but if these rules are not followe, then a strict curfew could be imposed in the city, Nagpur municipal c o mmis s i o n e r Tukaram Mundhe warned.

Chief minster Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that he was not in favour of complete lifting of the coronavirus-induced curbs in the state only to address the economic concerns.

Ma h a r a s h t r a too had imposed strict shutdown for varying periods in areas with high incidence of coronavirus infection including Pune.

“I will never say that the lockdown will be lifted completely. But I have started reopening a few things gradually. Once reopened, it shouldn’t be shut again. Hence, I prefer taking steps in phases. You can’t just think about economy or health. There needs to be a balance between the two,” the chief minister said in an interview to Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’.

From June onwards, the government had started lifting the restrictions in phase-wise manner under its ‘Mission Begin Again’ initiative.