In the last few days, more than 300 doctors and hundreds of nurses along with paramedics of various government and private hospitals in Patna are in home isolation after they tested positive for COVID-19.

Dr Ajay Kumar, the acting president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), state unit said that the number of doctors getting infected was increasing daily and was affecting the healthcare system in urban as well as rural regions.

Most doctors, nurses and healthcare staff have received both doses of COVID vaccine, yet they developed mild symptoms in this second wave of coronavirus pandemic. They have isolated themselves at home toprotect others from contracting the coronavirus.

62 doctors along with 50 nurses of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) have tested positive for COVID-19. The hospital administration has written to the heads of all the departments in the hospital for seeking the details of the severity of the symptoms of all the staff under home isolation. PMCH superintendent, Dr I S Thakur said that as most of the staff have taken both the doses of COVID vaccine, they want to assess the symptoms and its severity with other COVID effects on them. He also admitted that non-availability of healthcare workers has affected the functioning at the OPDs. Most of the doctors were conducting COVID tests and microbiological examinations of the samples. Few of them were also allotted in COVID wards. A separate 27-bed ward is created for treatment of doctors and healthcare workers of PMCH with serious symptoms of COVID.

25 doctors and 27 nurses are tested positive for COVID and are under home isolation at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH). Dr Binod Kumar Singh, NMCH superintendent said that most of the staff had received two vaccine doses and have not experienced the severity of the disease.

The NMCH’s main concern is to shift 150 non-Covid patients to other hospitals as it was recently made a COVID-dedicated hospital by the state government. The hospital wants 800 to 900 oxygen cylinders each day for serious COVID patients. They have already informed the government about it.

The number of COVID positive healthcare workers at AIIMS-Patna has reached 102. The nodal officer of the hospital for COVID, Dr Sajeev Kumar said that 17 senior doctors, 25 junior residents and 65 nurses are home isolated. More than 12 doctors of the ESIC Hospital at Bihta are also tested positive for COVID-19.

Source: The Times of India