A Central team of doctors, deputed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to review the preparedness to deal with the novel coronavirus (nCoV), visited the Government Hospital for Chest Diseases (GHCCD) and the King George Hospital (KGH) in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday.
The three-member team, led by Dr. Shikha Vardhan, first visited the GHCCD and inspected the isolation ward there. The ward has four beds with two ventilators. Signboards on handwashing and dos and don’ts were put up at the ward. Dr. Shikha and team members Dr. Kapoor Ch. Choudhary and Dr. Anuradha Shulania expressed satisfaction at the city’s preparedness to deal with nCoV cases.
They, however, suggested setting up glass partitions in the isolation wards.
GHCCD Superintendent K.V.V. Vijay Kumar explained to the visiting team about the facilities available at the hospital.
Dr. K. Rambabu, State Nodal Officer for nCoV, said that the required Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits and N95 surgical masks were available at the hospital.
Later, the Central team visited KGH and inspected the isolation ward there. KGH Superintendent G. Arjuna told the team that 18 posters on nCoV were put up at various places at the hospital to educate the public. There were 20 beds in the isolation ward and, if necessary, additional beds could be arranged.
Dr. Vardhan suggested installation of an exhaust fan at the isolation ward for circulation of air.
On Monday night, the Central team visited Visakhapatnam International Airport and inspected the screening facilities there. The team remained at the airport from 9.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. to oversee the screening process adopted for international passengers. They inspected the screening process, thermal screening and filling of forms by the passengers.
Airport Director M. Raja Kishore interacted with the team.
