THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The rapid spread of Covid has adversely affected the functioning of hospitals in the state with many health workers testing positive. As per official figures, over 1,500 health workers were infected within the past two weeks. On top of it, the death of a 45-year-old nursing officer in Varkala on Tuesday has come as a shocker to the community.
With more health workers continuing to report sick, Health Minister Veena George on Wednesday advised staff to take precaution to avoid cluster formation in organisations. Health experts have called for an urgent intervention from authorities to preserve healthcare resources as the days ahead are crucial for dealing with Covid.
Notwithstanding the Covid spread among health workers, hospitals continue to follow the regular work pattern. While the guidelines recommend seven-day self-isolation for persons with mild Covid infection, health workers have been following ad hoc methods to avoid disruption of hospital functioning.
“Many of our staff members and their families have tested positive. The numbers are huge, but, thankfully the infection is mild,” said a doctor in General Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on condition of anonymity. It is one of the busiest hospitals treating Covid patients in the state. Already, the hospital has curtailed its functions due to staff getting infected.
Experts have predicted that health workers would be the first ones to be infected with Omicron as seen in South Africa where the new variant was first noticed. Even a booster dose would be rendered ineffective due to the immune escape nature of the variant, studies said. They demanded an immediate change in the duty arrangement to avoid a major shortage.
“The situation has become such that if one employee gets infected, all others in the office develop symptoms the very next day. If one floor of the hospital reports a case, people in the entire floor develops symptoms. The big challenge is that a large majority of healthcare workers in the state are likely to get infected in the next two weeks.
There is going to be a major shortage of health workers. So, we need urgent measures to divide the staff into two shifts. It is similar to the crisis management done earlier during the lockdown,” said Dr Anoop Kumar A S, chief of critical care medicine, Baby Memorial Hospital in Kozhikode.
In the absence of a clear policy, some of the staff members have stopped testing and they go into self-isolation only for three days after their weekly shift. But such ad hoc measures are not considered suitable for preventing the spread of infection.
“There is a need to redesign the work arrangement to prevent the healthcare system from getting paralysed. Guidelines should be flexible to avert the closure of hospitals due to cluster formation and mass leave,” said Dr Althaf A, an epidemiologist and associate professor at Government Medical College Hospital, Manjeri.
Entry to state assembly, museum suspended
T’Puram: As Covid cases surge in Thiruvananthapuram, the state government has suspended public’s entry to the assembly and museum, as part of efforts to discourage the visitors’ arrival into the assembly complex.
Opposition blames govt for Omicron spurt
T’Puram: For the second day in a row, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan blamed the government for lapses in combating the third wave of the pandemic. He urged the ministers to show restrain as it’s the CPM party meetings that has triggered a spurt in Omicron cases. Speaking to reporters at Kovalam, Satheesan alleged the health department has become a scarecrow during the current outbreak. He alleged that CPM went ahead with Mega Thiruvathira and party meetings even when the Opposition decided to suspend protests and party meetings. “Several CPM leaders tested positive for Covid after the summit in Thiruvananthapuram. Still they are going ahead with the rest of the district meetings. The ministers who termed the outbreak as serious during the cabinet meeting are the main culprits behind the current spread,” he said.