City doc’s plea in SC leads to ICMR issuing fresh guidelines
   Date :03-Aug-2020

Dr Rajesh Swarnakar_1&nbs
 
 
Principal Correspondent :
 
April’s order of home isolation of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic CoVid-19 patients implemented now
 
 
The not-so-good behaviour of coronavirus positive asymptomatic patients in Government hospitals, made a city doctor, Dr Rajesh Swarnakar, knock the doors of Supreme Court. He approached Supreme Court and fought with a motto so that the frontline healthworkers in Government hospitals should not suffer. He urged the court that asymptomatic patients behave in a wayward manner bringing the morale of healthworkers down. Finally in April, Supreme Court issued directions asking Government to put asymptomatic positive patients in home isolation.
 
The order was partially implemented in some cities in Maharashtra. A day ago, after almost three months, Nagpur administration implemented it. This particular step by administration will not only reduce the load on Government hospitals but also people would start approaching laboratories to get themselves tested. A lot of testing would make the job of administration easy. Nagpur Municipal Corporation too is starting nine testing centres in city where people can go and give samples for testing.
 
“Back then in April, after the incident in Delhi, many were kept in medical colleges and Government hospital despite being asymptomatic. Healthcare workers including doctors, nursing staff and ward-boys were caring for them getting unnecessarily exposed as at that time, there was also shortage of N-95 masks and PPE kits. Moreover, there was disturbing news that these asymptomatic patients were spitting on them asking them to check them often, etc., Dr Swarnakar said.
 
“This is ridiculous that we were exposing our front line warriors of CoVid-19, like doctors caring for these asymptomatic patients who do not require any indoor treatment. This led to healthcare workers getting infected, getting quarantined, many dying out of it. This is what made me approach the Supreme Court,” informed Dr Rajesh Swarnakar, National Secretary of Indian Chest Society. “Within a day or two Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) came out with this guideline on April 29, 2020, for home isolation of asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients.
 
But health being a matter falling under the purview of State Governments, many States continued old policy and I am glad that finally it is being implemented in Nagpur albeit a bit late. I also feel that Rapid Antigen and Antibody Test be made widely available in Private Hospitals too for better management of patients during the pandemic for which also ICMR guidelines exist but are not been implemented nationally.
 
Who are asymptomatic patients? According to doctors, the person who is called asymptomatic is the one whose is laboratory-confirmed case infected with COVID-19, but he does not have any symptoms. Common symptoms of coronavirus are fever, bodyache, cough, cold, breathlessness etc. The virus can cause a range of symptoms, say doctors.
 
City registers 150 coronavirus +ve cases; 66 recover, 9 die
 
Principal Correspondent :
 
Nagpur city registered 150 coronavirus positive cases on Sunday taking the cumulative number to 5,024. Nine persons who had tested positive died. The people who got discharged are 66. With these the total number of recovery reached 3,239. The details of nine deaths: A 65-year-old man whose residence is unknown though he was from Nagpur suffered from bronchopneumonia. A 70-year-old woman resident of Zingabai Takli Juni Basti passed away after testing positive for coronavirus. A Takiya Diwan Shah, Mominpura resident man of 53 years suffering from diabetes and hypertension passed away. A 59-year-old resident of Mankapur died after testing positive for coronavirus. Another man aged 39 years, a resident of Juni Mangalwari passed away after testing Covid-19 positive. He was alcoholic, had liver disease and was diagnosed with cirrhosis heptic encephalopathy. Another 60-year old resident of Jaffar Nagar with many ailments like diabetes, chronic kidney disease, acute respiratory failure died. A 75-year-old Dahi bazar, Itwari, resident with several ailments passed away on Sunday. All the above patients passed away at IGGMCH. The two deaths those took place at GMCH include two women of 71 years of age from Vishwakarma Nagar and Hudkeshwar, respectively. Of the total positive cases in Nagpur, samples were examined at virology laboratory at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH) (77), Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) (23), private laboratories (17), National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) (7), molecular diagnostic laboratory of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) (55).
 
 
New addition of pvt hospitals for Covid-19 cases
 
With Wockhardt becoming the second private hospital treating Covid-19 patients after the one in Mumbai, now some more hospials in Nagpur have come forward to extend the facility for treatment to the infection. These include VIMS, Alexis, Orange City Hospital and Research Institute (OCHRI), Seven Star Hospital, Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, Digdoh.