30 per cent health workers in Lucknow are Covid positive
In a grim revelation, more than 30 per cent of healthcare workers in Lucknow have tested positive for COVID-19. According to the details, the infected healthcare workers include doctors, nurses, technicians, ward boys and administrative officials across some major hospitals treating patients for the novel coronavirus. With this, the COVID-19 services at various hospitals have been adversely affected.
A senior doctor at the King George's Medical University, where 40 doctors had tested positive in a day, said, "The disease is so infectious that every time a team goes on 14-day Covid duty, nearly one-fourth of them return with the infection."
He said that while many of them are under home isolation, some with comorbidities have been admitted to the hospital.
At Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, at least 600 out of 2,000 staff members are Covid-positive.
"Around 30 per cent of the staff is infected. The non-Covid team are also getting infected while identifying Covid patients," said RMLIMS spokesperson Dr Shrikesh Singh.
He further said, "We have almost completely vaccinated our staff and are asking them to use protective gear while working."
A similar situation prevails in the Balrampur Hospital where, in the past 72 hours, at least 24 staff members, including 15 doctors, have tested positive. The testing unit has been shut for 48 hours for sanitization," said Dr V K Pandey, nodal officer for Covid facility at Balrampur Hospital.
What makes the situation worse is the fact that the inflow of patients has increased manifold while the workforce has gone down.
Uttar Pradesh dealing with alarming COVID-19 situation
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh on Sunday registered the highest single-day rise in COVID-19 cases as well as fatality count, with the disease claiming 129 more lives, while 30,596 fresh cases pushed its tally to 8,51,620. Briefing reporters, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said in the last 24 hours, 30,596 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from the state, while 9,041 patients recovered from the disease.
A total of 6,50,333 COVID-19 patients have so far recovered from the disease in the state, he added.
With the 129 fresh fatalities, the death toll due to the viral disease rose to 9,830, the official said.
Of the 129 fresh COVID-19 deaths, 22 fatalities were reported from Lucknow, followed by 15 from Allahabad, 10 from Varanasi, eight from Kanpur, six from Etawah, five from Mathura and four each from Bareilly, Moradabad, Rae Bareli and Gonda.
Of the fresh cases, Lucknow reported 5,551 cases followed by 2,011 from Varanasi, 1,839 from Kanpur and 1,711 from Allahabad.
The count of active COVID-19 patients in the state stands at 1,91,457, he added.
Prasad also informed that over 3.82 crore samples have so far been tested in the state, including over 2.36 lakh in the last 24 hours.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel spoke to district magistrates of Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi and Kanpur over the phone on the prevailing situation. She was informed about the preventive measures and treatment being given to patients, the Raj Bhavan said in a statement on Sunday.
The Governor said the use of mask should be made mandatory for everyone, and violators should be sternly dealt with.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also asked Medical Education Minister Suresh Khanna to monitor the current situation of oxygen supply and its projected use in the next 15 days.
Adityanath, who is in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, undertook a review meeting with senior officials on Sunday to ensure adequate medical grade oxygen supply in the state amid a massive surge in its demand for critical COVID-19 patients.
