COVID-19: Grappling with pressure on health infrastructure, states put fresh restrictions

State govts are reserving more Covid hospitals, addressing shortage of medical supplies

NEW DELHI: Amid an unprecedented burden on health infrastructure in 15 states and Delhi, which are witnessing an upward trajectory, authorities have started reserving more COVID hospitals and taking steps to address any shortage of medical supplies, besides enhancing curbs on the movement of people.

Five states — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala — cumulatively account for 70.82 percent of India’s active COVID-19 cases, while Maharashtra alone accounts for 48.57 percent, the Union Health Ministry said.

Besides these states, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are displaying an upward graph in daily new cases.

Most of these states have reimposed restrictions, including the closure of schools, night curfew, weekend and local shutdowns, while ruling out a total lockdown, but as the latest wave of patients continues to flood hospitals, there are some signs of a rethink.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that a lockdown will be the only option if the infections don’t abate and the health system shows signs of collapsing.

Speaking at an all-party meeting held virtually to discuss the COVID19 situation in the state on Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had indicated the imposition of a strict lockdown in the state given the alarming rise in COVID19 cases.

“The number of patients is increasing so fast that if we do not decide on a lockdown today, a lockdown-like situation will automatically arise tomorrow, he said.

The state has already announced a slew of curbs, including night curfew.

As the number of active cases reaches a new high, states are grappling with the pressure on health facilities.

The Chhatttisgarh government has directed that 80 per cent of the total oxygen produced will be supplied for medical purposes to hospitals.

The state health department on Sunday issued a notification in this regard under the Epidemic Diseases Act. Several areas in Madhya Pradesh have been witnessing harried people queuing up outside medical stores for Remdesivir, a drug used in the treatment.

A senior Madhya Pradesh official on Sunday said a sizeable batch of the drug has arrived and will be distributed to medical facilities as per requirement.

In Maharashtra, Pune was also witnessing a huge demand for the drug.

The Punjab Health Department has asked private hospitals to defer elective surgeries till April 30 to meet the increasing demand for beds and charge government-fixed rates for the treatment of coronavirus patients.

The Uttar Pradesh government announced imposing night curfew in districts reporting over 100 daily cases or 500 active cases and extended closure of all schools till April 30.

At the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, it was decided to conduct at least one lakh RT-PCR tests daily.

Ahead of Navratri and Ramzan, the state government has said that not more than five persons should be allowed to enter religious places.

The Gujarat government has already imposed restrictions on people's movement during the night in 20 cities of the state, including Surat. The latest surge of COVID-19 has also sparked concerns of a repeat of migrant workers' exodus from the worst affected states. Industry sources in Tamil Nadu said the sector was recovering from the jolt of the first wave of Coronavirus but now some workers have again reportedly left for their natives early last week as they feared being stranded if a lockdown was imposed.

A severe spike in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai and talk of a “complete lockdown” like last year, has made the national highway number 3 skirting past Madhya Pradesh's commercial hub Indore a prime route for wary migrants returning home to states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The number of motorcycles, black-and-yellow mini trucks and autorickshaws, teeming with migrants, have been on the rise over the past few days on a bypass road connected to this route, popularly known as Mumbai-Agra road.

While there are no clear answers to the COVID flare-up, top scientists say the complex interplay of mutant strains, a hugely susceptible population made more vulnerable by elections and other public events and the lowering of guard are primarily to blame. The Centre had warned last week that the next four weeks are critical.