Telangana braces for possible Covid third wave

Hyderabad: The State government has completed preparations for a probable third Covid-19 wave by augmenting vital medical infrastructure and imparting training to healthcare workers to handle a possible surge of Covid-19 infections. As part of these efforts, 28,000 beds in government hospitals in the State now have direct medical oxygen lines for Covid patients. Overall, […]

Hyderabad: The State government has completed preparations for a probable third Covid-19 wave by augmenting vital medical infrastructure and imparting training to healthcare workers to handle a possible surge of Covid-19 infections.

As part of these efforts, 28,000 beds in government hospitals in the State now have direct medical oxygen lines for Covid patients. Overall, both in government and private hospitals, the Health Department now have access to a staggering 60,000 hospital beds for Covid patients.

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During the second wave, which was dominated by the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, Telangana had to depend on sourcing of medical oxygen.

In a big step towards self-sustainability, the State now has increased its medical oxygen manufacturing capacity from 135 metric tonnes (MT) of oxygen 327 MTs. In the coming months, the overall ability to produce medical oxygen here will be further augmented to 550 MTs.

In the last few months, following the drop in cases of Covid infections, the State government has also added 76 PSA oxygen generators of various capacities at State-run hospitals across Telangana. Apart from these, 27 industry-standard ISO containers for transporting medical oxygen from various sources have also been procured.

There was a lot of speculation that the third wave perhaps could impact children. To ensure adequate beds are available during such exigencies, 6,000 paediatric beds have already been established in government hospitals. Out of the total 6,000 paediatric beds, Health Department has developed 1,875 ICU beds with ventilators, High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) machines, CiPAP, BiPAP, monitors and syringe pumps only for paediatric cases.

“The State government has gone to a huge extent to create infrastructure in government hospitals. While there is enough infrastructure support, the fact remains that to a large extent the resurgence of Covid will depend on the behaviour of individuals. I urge people to continue to focus on masks, physical distancing and personal hygiene during this pandemic,” Director of Public Health, Dr Srinivasa Rao said.

On safe side

• About 60,000 beds available for Covid patients in both government and private hospitals in Telangana.
• 27,996 beds in government hospitals now have medical oxygen lines.
• 6,000 paediatric beds set up at government hospitals.
• Rs 133.9 crore spent to create paediatric infrastructure.
• Rs 103 crore to create 132 PSA oxygen generators at hospitals.
• Nearly 27 industry-standard ISO containers available to transport medical oxygen.

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