This is not the time to sleep: Dr Dewan

Director, Health and Family Welfare, Dr G Dewan speaks to Naina Mishra on the UT’s war against Covid.

How extensively are you working towards battling Covid-19?

We are awake day and night. This is not the time to sleep. One single positive case misses from our eye and it will infect the whole society. Each patient’s report is being screened. The state Health Department has seven ambulances ready for Covid patients.

Is there a shortage of personal protective equipment?

My concern is that our paramedical staff does not get infected with virus. I have ensured adequate safety equipment. Our health workers are the first line of defence and will be given the malaria drug. However, the role and impact of the drug are yet to be seen.

How do you cope with stress?

No doubt, there is a lot of stress, but I try to subdue it with humour.

Will UT be able to contain the transmission after 21 days?

We have made sure that there is no relaxation in the curfew. People will have to bear with us. We will have problems, but we have to keep the nation first. Only then, we can make the containment successful. All cases in the city are linked to one person only. There is less number of international travellers here as compared to other states.

Is contact tracing a challenge?

Sometimes, people don’t reveal correct address. We have classified persons in contact tracing as symptomatic and asymptomatic. Those asymptomatic don’t take quarantine seriously. A team regularly calls persons under quarantine to check symptoms. We have screened 771 people, who are now under home quarantine.

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