Covid cases rise in Chandigarh, so does bed occupancy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 14

As active cases begin to swell in the city, the bed occupancy in hospitals has also increased by 100 per cent in the past four days. At present, 21 Covid patients are admitted to city hospitals, nine of them at the PGI. Eleven patients were admitted to city hospitals on June 10.

Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, has seven patients admitted to the Covid ward. Dr Suman Singh, Director, Health Services, Chandigarh, said, “Those admitted to Covid wards are the ones who do not have the isolation facility at their homes. Some are elderly with comorbidities and need extra care.”

At the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, five patients are admitted to the Covid ward, of which three are healthcare workers, who are first-year MD students. “All three doctors admitted to the GMCH are symptom-free,” said a doctor. There are 238 actives cases in Chandigarh at present and the positivity rate has shot up to 4.3 per cent. The UT Health Department has been sending Covid samples every 15 days to check the circulating variant in the city. As per the latest samples, all samples were found to be of the Omicron variant.

Vaccine hesitancy for booster dose

Even as the cases are rising, the intake of the booster shot has been low in the city. Against the population of 8,43,000, only 50,332 have taken the booster shot, which translates to barely 6 per cent of the entire population of the city.

Among the 12-14 age group, 30 per cent have still not taken the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while 40 per cent of the beneficiaries in the 15-18 age group are yet to take the second dose of the Covid vaccine.

What doctor says

Dr Ashutosh Aggarwal from the PGI’s Pulmonary Medicine Department said, “A large proportion of patients admitted to the PGI has minimal Covid-related symptoms such as mild cough or low-grade fever, but needed hospitalisation for treatment of their other significant diseases. A few patients have also been referred to us with moderately severe respiratory symptoms, breathlessness, or low oxygen saturation, and have the required supplemental oxygen or even ventilatory support. Most such patients are elderly and have underlying chronic illnesses.”

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