Covid testing at Faridkot govt medical college soon

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, March 28

Doctors and technicians at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot have successfully completed their VRDL lab training and will start testing suspected Covid patients in the region soon.

“Earlier, Covid testing was being done at government medical colleges in Amritsar and Patiala. Once the equipment reaches us, we will immediately start testing,” said Dr Raj Bahadur, Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. The medical college is constituent of the university.

Regarding the preparedness of the institution in tackling Covid-19 cases, doctors said the college was fully equipped as per the standard guidelines for tackling the epidemic. “Two flu corners have been established at the institution to screen patients visiting the OPD and emergency wings. Strict vigil is kept at the entry points of the hospital with properly instructed security guards in place,” said Dr Deepak Bhatti, college Principal.

After initial screening, patients suspected to have Covid-19 are shifted to the isolation ward of the hospital following prescribed protocol, where throat swab is taken and packed by trained specialists following national guidelines for dispatching it to government-designated laboratories for Covid-19 testing. The hospital is equipped with 100 beds for Covid-19 suspected and confirmed patients with the facility of upgrade to 250 beds. Twentysix ventilators are also available for these patients. Adequate staff comprising faculty, post-graduate residents, nursing staff and para-medical staff have been deputed in Corona ward following a carefully-designed roster. Adequate medical and non-medical staff have been kept in reserve whose services can be availed if need be. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) for handling suspected Covid-19 patients have been formulated and all doctors have been trained and sensitised regarding the handling of Covid-19 cases, so that their services can be utilised at any point of time. The necessary logistics required for the implementation of above SOPs are already in place. Standard protocol for the disinfection of the hospital is being followed and supervised by the Disinfection Committee of the hospital, the VC said.

The protocol for handling bodies of Covid-19 patients is also in place. Two other components of the medical university — Advance Cancer Institute, Bathinda, and Civil Hospital, Jalalabad — also have 80 beds each to cater to patients.

To make regular updates and frame further guidelines, which are required as per the need of the hour, regular interaction through videoconferencing via ZOOM application between Vice-Chancellor, Principal Secretary, Medical Education, and Health as well as Principals and Medical Superintendents of GGS Medical College, Faridkot; GMC Medical College, Amritsar and Patiala is being done. Heads of all these institutions are in regular contact for all updates and requirements are being meted out.

Covid Suspect admitted to civil hospital

Bathinda: A city resident, who is in his 20s and was showing symptoms of Covid-19, was admitted to the isolation ward of the Civil Hospital on Saturday. Civil Surgeon Dr Amrik Singh Sandhu said: “We have collected samples of the patient and sent these for examination to the lab. The samples of a woman, which were collected on Friday, were also sent for testing.” The Civil Surgeon said: “We have been making all-out efforts to tackle the situation, but many people seem to have not been following guidelines on social distancing. If these guidelines are not followed properly, the entire purpose of the curfew will be defeated and the threat of community transmission will loom large. Therefore, we urge residents to stay indoors and avoid gatherings.” A total of 10 samples of suspected patients were collected in the district. Of them, eight patients tested negative for Covid. TNS

Quarantine norms enforced in 44 habitations in Faridkot

Faridkot: To stop the spread of Covid-19 in slums and congested residential areas, the Health Department and district administration has identified 44 habitations in the district and enforced quarantine norms in these localities on Saturday. “Fifteen of these slum areas and congested habitations are in Faridkot town, 12 in Jaito and 17 in Kotkapura town of the district. These areas have been declared as quarantine zones under the Epidemic Diseases Act and Disaster Management Act,” said Kumar Saurabh Raj, Deputy Commissioner, Faridkot. “In congested residential areas where hygienic conditions are poor, the potential for the spread of infectious diseases is massive, simply because people are so close to each other and have such prolonged face-to-face contact,” said a senior officer in the Health Department here. “Enforcing quarantine norms in these congested residential areas are necessary. While most of the bustling streets of the towns were comparatively empty and eerily quiet, but the assembly of people in the slum and basti areas is common even during the curfew,” he said. “In efforts to prevent the spread of the virus in these congested areas and keep the epidemic at bay, even if it can’t completely stamp out infections, early intervention is the key. So are painstaking tracking, enforced quarantines and meticulous social distancing,” the DC said. “The first step of breaking the chain of infection is identification of such hotspots. In this context, a meeting was called to formulate a strategy for breaking the infection chain of Covid-19 and the first main step for breaking the chain was early identification of hotspots. The officers of Urban Local Bodies have identified these habitations as congested and contiguous habitations, which demand strict enforcement of quarantine norms, the DC said. The Health Department will ensure routine inspections in these areas and SDMs will ensure supplies of all essential commodities to residents of these localities on the doorstep. — Balwant Garg

• 15 of these areas are in Faridkot town
• 12 in Jaito 
• 17 in Kotkapura

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