CHHATTISGARH
Last year, Chhattisgarh was envied for its very small number of Covid cases, an impressive recovery rate and the fact that much of the state remained untouched by the pandemic. Yet the state now seems to be swamped by Covid’s second wave. With 129,000 active cases as on April 19, it was the fourth worst-hit state in the country.
Like many states, Chhattisgarh had been lulled into believing that the worst was over. At one point, daily fresh cases had dropped to under 30 in the capital, Raipur. Many suspect that the T20 cricket tournament, organised in March at the 40,000-capacity Raipur stadium as part of a road safety programme, turned into a super spreader event.
Chhattisgarh is currently staring at a shortage of hospital beds, oxygen supply and critical drugs such as Remdesivir. The state has a total of 26,042 Covid beds, including 8,088 oxygen beds and 2,550 ICU beds. As on April 20, only 2,006 oxygen beds and 171 ICU beds were vacant, but even these were filling up fast. The health services in Raipur are particularly strained as it caters to patients from over half a dozen adjoining districts.
The health department plans to create 1,000 new ICU beds and has also reserved 50 per cent of all beds in private hospitals for Covid patients. Efforts are being made to set up another 6,000-7,000 oxygen beds. Health department officials maintain that while the situation is one of concern, there has been total data transparency, which is primarily why more cases are coming to light. Also, the number of cases is higher because there has been more testing, they say. The state’s claims about tests may be true. Chhattisgarh, which has a population of 23 million, has been testing around 48,000 people every day and is ramping it up further. In comparison, neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, with a population of 72.3 million (2011 census), is conducting around 50,000 tests a day.
Regarding Covid deaths, too, Chhattisgarh has been maintaining transparency, giving out details of the causes behind the deaths along with the Covid bulletin issued each day. Of the 165 deaths reported on April 19, 104 were classified as Covid deaths and the remaining as deaths of Covid patients due to comorbidities. “We are maintaining total transparency as we believe this is essential for addressing this health crisis,” said state health minister T.S. Singh Deo. On the shortage of drugs, he said that the government had placed orders for 90,000 vials ofRemdesivir while the procurement of another 45,000 vials was in the pipeline.
Officials anticipate that the total number of active cases will climb to 170,000 by April 30. AIIMS Raipur has flagged the shortage of oxygen beds, and its director Dr Nitin Nagarkar was quoted in the media as saying that the state would need around 70,000 oxygen beds. As of now, Chhattisgarh is nowhere close to that.
Orders have been placed for 90,000 vials of REMDESIVIR and another 45,000 vials are in the pipeline