VISAKHAPATNAM: Nearly 40 hospitals in various districts of Andhra Pradesh reported zero Covid-19 patients as of Thursday, marking a major milestone in the state’s fight against the pandemic during the second wave since March 2021. About 550 hospitals are currently serving Covid patients in the state with a combined capacity of 45,000 beds.
The disease incidence was at its peak from May 1 to 23 with an average 20.000 infections daily, overwhelming the state’s health system. During those three weeks, hospitals scrambled for ICU and oxygen beds as infections continued to mo-wit to new highs. This can be gauged from the fact that only 380 ICU beds were available in the state on May 15, while only 433 oxygen beds were with the recoveries outnumbering the fresh infections for the last two weeks, over 9,800 oxygen and ICU beds were vacant in the hospitals as of Friday evening.
Dr T Srinivasa Rao, superintendent of Rani Chandramani Devi government hospital in Visakhapatnam, said the hospital has successfully discharged all Covid-19 patients. “We have a capacity of 25 oxygen beds and all patients have been cured and discharged,” he said.
At the peak of the first wave of the pandemic last year, about 260 hospitals with a combined bed capacity of 35,000 had served the patients.
As the daily case numbers dropped to triple-digits and consequently to double-digits, the health department de-notified 220 hospitals between October last year and February this year.
But with the daily Covid-19 case numbers again surging between March and May, the health department again lined up nearly 640 hospitals. After recruiting 17,300 doctors and supporting staff during the first wave, the state hired about 19,000 medical personnel during the second wave.
Meanwhile, the health department has decided to recruit ENT surgeons on a temporary/honorary basis to treat the increasing number of mucormycosis cases in the state. Two oral and maxillofacial surgeons would be deputed from private dental colleges to all the notified mucormycosis treating hospitals. One operation theatre has to be earmarked for surgeries on mucormycosis patients at these hospitals.
