Even as the tally in the district touched 308 on Wednesday, officials reiterated that the District COVID Hospital is geared up to meet any exigency and allayed fears among public.
“We are geared up to cope with the fast-emerging cases. If need be, we will enhance the bed capacity of the hospital,” said District COVID Hospital administration head P. Naresh Kumar Reddy while addressing mediapersons.
The hospital(Level 1), administered by the Apollo Medical College, had only six isolation beds when it started functioning in March before the lockdown kickstarted.
‘Guidelines followed’
Now, the capacity has been increased to 400 isolation and 30 ICU beds, as per officials. Of the 400 isolation beds, 230 of them are designed to treat critically ill COVID cases. The isolation facilities are in tune with the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and World Health Organization (WHO), Mr. Naresh Kumar Reddy said.
“Right from the last week of March, the hospital collected samples of over 3,000 suspect cases and conducted the tests. Apart from providing a nutritious diet, we arranged vaporizers in the isolation wards. As per the guidelines of the State COVID-19 control room, we did not immediately discharge patients who tested negative to the virus,” he said.
The official said that at present, 58 positive patients were being treated in Chittoor, while 21 of them were discharged.
“Shifting critical patients to Tirupati was not a viable option. Having a COVID dedicated hospital in the district has enabled the administration to respond to the patients quickly and manage the situation,” Mr Naresh Kumar Reddy said.
‘Safety ensured’
On a side note, all the medical and paramedical staff were provided with PPE kits, N-95 masks. Apart from the COVID Hospital staff, the personnel going for surveys were also provided with the requisite safety equipments, officials said.
