In view of the growing number of people being confirmed positive for coronavirus disease in the country, the Centre has announced that all private hospitals must inform government officials if there are any individuals suspected to have COVID-19 are admitted to the hospitals.
“In the wake of the prevailing COVID-19 situation and in order to strengthen the containment measures, it is of utmost importance that each and every case (suspects/confirmed) of COVID-19 is isolated and provided appropriate treatment and their contacts are traced at the earliest to break the chain of transmission. It is important that support and cooperation of private sector is enlisted, in this regard,” reads the statement issued by the Union Health Ministry.
It further goes on to state that “it shall be mandatory for all hospitals (government and private), medical officers in government health institutions and registered private medical practitioners including AYUSH practitioners” to notify district health officials if there are any suspected cases of coronavirus disease. The statement further notes that individuals with relevant history who are exhibiting any symptoms must be isolated and tested for the infection.
These measures have been introduced in the wake of the World Health Organisation (WHO) calling for stricter testing measures to be introduced for COVID-19 in all countries, in an effort to contain the spread of the disease. Speaking to the media at a briefing earlier this week, Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that only by increasing testing would the full impact of the virus’s spread be understood.
Hospitals were earlier asked to notify officials of any possible or suspected cases of coronavirus disease. However, the government has put in stricter guidelines now – if a person reports to a hospital with the symptoms of COVID-19, and has had travel history to coronavirus-affected countries, or has been in contact with someone who is infected, or has no an etiology that explains their health condition, or if their tests for coronavirus are inconclusive – the hospital has to mandatorily report it to the government authorities. This applies to healthcare workers in the hospital as well.
As of Wednesday, there are 130 active cases of the infection reported in India with three deaths having occurred. The first victim was a 76-year-old man from Kalaburagi in Karnataka; the second, an elderly woman from Delhi; and the third, a 64-year-old man from Maharashtra who had recently traveled to India from Dubai.