Nanded gurdwaras now Covid Care Centres: ‘Most comfortable’

Officials were scouting for suitable locations to set up Level-1 Covid Care Centres (CCCs) when the gurdwaras — Langar Sahib and Sachkhand Shri Hazur Sahib — made available three buildings used to house pilgrims.

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“The administrators simply handed over the keys when the corporation made its request. The rooms are huge, clean and air-conditioned. The quarantine facilities are the best and most comfortable that you can expect to find anywhere,” said Dr Sureshsingh Bisen, Medical Health Officer, Nanded Waghala Municipal Corporation (NWMC).

“We have housed positive cases at the Langar Sahib’s 150-bed Yatri Nivas. The gurdwara took it upon itself to prepare food for the patients. Our staff in PPE kits delivered the food to the rooms,” Bisen said.

At the Sachkhand Gurdwara, suspect cases are housed in the NRI Yatri Nivas, and positive patients at Punjab Bhavan next door, both in separate compounds, divided by barriers. “Any suspect case that tests positive is shifted from the Nivas to the Bhavan,” Bisen said.

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Gurdwara authorities are not keen to talk about their efforts. But officials say that till about two weeks ago, the 500 beds available were “almost full”. Currently, nine patients are housed in Punjab Bhavan and 100 of their high-risk contacts in quarantine at NRI Yatri Nivas.

In all, Nanded has 20 CCCs with 3,040 beds for “pre-mild” and “mild” cases, seven Dedicated Covid Health Centres (DCHCs) with 480 beds for “moderate” cases, and nine Dedicated Covid Hospitals (DCHs) with 649 beds, 121 ICU beds and 38 ventilators for “severe” cases.

The current case count is 149 in 43 days, with 120 recoveries and eight deaths. And at the

moment, only one of the district’s 38 ventilators is in use, to treat an 80-year-old female patient at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital — the only patient currently in a DCH. So far, the district has not needed to call into action six DCHs set up in private hospitals.

“Since we had time to prepare, we identified nine DCHs in Nanded town and its periphery, with central oxygen facilities and separate entrances and exits, as per ICMR guidelines,” said Dr Neelkanth Bhosikar, the Civil Surgeon.

Given the relatively low rate of infection currently among a population of nearly 34 lakh in 18 talukas, Bhosikar insists that the facilities have not been stretched. “Most of our patients are asymptomatic carriers who have recovered after quarantine. We have not seen a large number of patients being admitted to DCHCs and DCHs,” he said.

At the Shri Guru Gobind Singh Memorial Hospital, which houses the government’s frontline DHC, 50 beds with a central oxygen connection, 10 ICU beds with ventilators, and a team of 18 doctors are ready.

“This facility was identified in the first week of April, and we were able to attend video conference training sessions with experts from Mumbai and Pune… A 50-bed DCHC is also nearing completion. We had started construction last year and decided to convert it into a Level-II facility. It will be operational within two weeks,” said Dr Sumit Lomte, the nodal officer.

However, officials in Nanded acknowledge that constant vigil is the key. For a start, with the NWMC employing only 40 doctors, the district embarked on a recruitment drive for doctors, nurses, data entry operators, and Class III and IV employees. “We have selected the candidates,” said Bisen, the medical officer.

Even at the two gurdwaras, he said, the NWMC’s Class III and IV employees were hesitant after one of them tested positive. “They would wear PPE kits 24 hours because they were afraid. We counselled them and told them to wear the kits only while serving food and medicine to patients, and while cleaning their rooms,” he said.

Outside Nanded town, meanwhile, the death of a woman in the predominantly tribal Kinwat taluka, 150 km away, has caused concern. “The results came after she had died…it was positive. The taluka has a CCC and DCHC but the nearest DCH is several hours away. The woman had walked home all the way from Pune, about 450 km away,” said Bhosikar, the Civil Surgeon.