This story is from April 29, 2020

Hunt for space for more Covid centres in Ranchi

With Covid-19 cases rising steadily in Ranchi over the past week, the district administration has begun scouting for new infrastructure to set up isolation centres.
Hunt for space for more Covid centres in Ranchi
RANCHI: With Covid-19 cases rising steadily in Ranchi over the past week, the district administration has begun scouting for new infrastructure to set up isolation centres.
On Monday, the administration took over Central Coalfields Limited’s (CCL) Gandhinagar Hospital in Kanke. The CCL management said by Tuesday evening, eight Covid-19 patients were admitted at the hospital for treatment.
The facility became the third dedicated Covid-19 hospital in Ranchi after Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) and Paras Hospital (formerly HEC hospital) in Dhurwa. Together, these hospitals make up for a combined 220 isolation beds, the district health department said. Till Tuesday evening, 77 positive cases were reported from Ranchi alone.
Besides dedicated Covid-19 hospitals, the district is now looking for infrastructure to establish Covid Care Centres (CCC). These facilities, which may be makeshift ones, will house asymptomatic patients who will not need critical care. “We have finalised seven facilities for developing them as CCC, but we will not identify them as it may lead to panic among citizens,” Ranchi deputy commissioner Rai Mahimapat Ray told TOI.
Ranchi civil surgeon’s office said the city’s three quarantine centres, including the Mega Sports Complex in Hotwar, housed 127 suspected Covid-19 patients as on Monday. “In all, 7,872 persons were on home quarantine across the district. Of them, the quarantine period of 4,466 persons has ended,” an official in the district health department said.
Notably, the Union ministry of health and family welfare recently released a fresh set of guidelines for putting Covid-19 patients with very mild or pre-symptomatic conditions on home isolation, if there is sufficient arrangement of caregiving. As per guidelines, the patients can seek medical attention when they face difficulties in breathing, persistent chest pain, mental confusion, discolouration in lips or face or as per the advice of the treating doctor. However, Jharkhand government is yet to notify the guidelines.
Meanwhile, the administration’s efforts to set up new CCCs is being met with resistance from apprehensive locals. The staff of a private hospital in the city’s Bariatu area wrote to Ranchi DC urging him to reverse the decision of using the campus to house Covid-19 patients. Ray, however, said action will be initiated against those who try to obstruct government officials in dispensing their duties.
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