india

Updated: Apr 08, 2020 07:33 IST

The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday decided to reserve 20,000 beds in hospitals and private buildings to set up isolation wards. The move is aimed at intensifying the fight against coronavirus.

Addressing a press conference in state capital Lucknow, principal secretary, health and family welfare, Amit Mohan Prasad said that during management of Covid-19 positive patients, health teams detected that several people were asymptomatic. But when their swab and samples were sent for laboratory tests, the reports confirmed that they were coronavirus positive. The relatives and close contacts of the positive patients, too, had no symptoms but tests confirmed that they too were positive for the virus, he said.

The health department has now decided to keep asymptomatic people in the isolation wards for treatment. It has already reserved 10,000 beds in government hospitals and health centres in the 75 districts of the state for admission of positive cases. The department has decided to reserve another 10,000 beds for the admission of people who are asymptomatic.

The district magistrates have been directed to acquire lodges, hotels and guest houses near hospitals for admission of such cases. The plan is to reserve 10,000 beds in hotels, guest houses and private premises to set up isolation wards. The state government has issued an order to the district magistrates to start acquisition of such premises in their districts, Prasad said.

During the lockdown, a large numbers of people are facing mental tension and loneliness. The health department has appointed 100 counsellors to help such people. It is already providing health advice to people on its helpline - 1800-180-5145.

The health department has also amended its strategy in relation to coronavirus positive cases in 37 districts. In some districts merely one or two positive cases have been reported. Rather than starting a 30-bed hospital for a single patient, the department has decided to assemble the patients in a single hospital.

Treatment of patients in a single hospital will ensure better management of human resource and equipment, Prasad said.

He said 137 hospitals in the state were ready to treat coronavirus patients. These hospitals include medical colleges of Prayagraj, Meerut, Jhansi, BRD Medical College Gorakhpur, SGPGI, Lucknow, Saifai Medical Institute in Etawah and Jhansi.

The 750 beds in the hospitals have ventilators. At present, around 300 patients are admitted in the hospitals but none of them are on ventilator, he said.