Prakasam district ready to tackle any fresh wave

Ongole: The district administration is geared up to fight against the fresh wave of Covid, including the new BF.7 variant.

Following the instructions from the State government, the staff is ready to conduct tests and vaccinate people who missed their doses earlier. Since the registration of the first Covid case in the Prakasam district in March 2020, a total of 1,56,539 positive cases were reported and 1,163 deaths occurred in the three waves.

A total of 2,70,0692 tests were done on the suspected people. In the first wave, it was in September 2020, a maximum of 25,479 cases and 234 deaths were reported. In the second wave, in May 2021, a maximum of 35,543 cases and 172 deaths and in January 2022, a maximum of 14,846 cases and 101 deaths were reported.

Of total 1,163 deaths, 1,148 occurred in hospital, while only nine died at home, three at the Covid Care Centres and another three in transit.

The effect of the third wave was low when compared to the earlier waves, and a maximum of 87 cases were reported in June 2022. It is since October 2022, there were no positive cases registered in the district.

The Government General Hospital (GGH) in Ongole played a crucial role in the treatment of Covid patients when no other hospital dared enough to open the doors for them. The doctors, nursing staff and other supporting staff at the hospital saved thousands of Covid-positive patients, even when there were not enough facilities available. GGH Ongole was equipped with more infrastructure facilities during the second wave of Covid, and they were ready to start treatment for the infected people by isolating them from the very first day, said superintendent Dr M Bhagavan Naik. He explained that the 100-bed portable Covid Care Unit installed at the hospital is ready to be used with all necessary equipment. This is in addition to the existing 600-bed hospital buildings. He said that 2 Pressure Swing Adsorption technology (PSA) oxygen plants produce 3,000 litres of medical oxygen per minute. There are three 10,000 kilolitre storage units, along with 650 bulk cylinders and nearly 750 oxygen concentrators for immediate usage. Bhagavan Naik said that they already have a stock of 10,000 PPE kits, antibiotics, and steroids for use in the treatment of Covid symptoms. Dr S Rajyalakshmi, District Medical and Health Officer said that the new variant Omicron BF.7 has a shorter incubation period, more immune escape capability, and a faster transmission rate when compared with the earlier variants. She said that they have already achieved 100 per cent of the first and second doses of Covid vaccination, and completed a 40 per cent target for booster vaccine for people in the age group of 18 to 59 years, and 76 per cent for 60 plus years aged people in the district.

She said that the BF.7 variant may affect people with comorbidities like heart and lung diseases, old-age, pregnant women and other people suffering from immune deficient conditions. She informed that they were conducting tests at the urban and primary health centres, along with the identified ward and village secretariats for suspected cases. Any suspected samples would be set for genome sequencing to the lab in Vijayawada/

Booster dose of vaccine would be administered if people come forward, she said. District Collector AS Dinesh Kumar said that the State and Union governments will issue advisories on the status of international and domestic travellers. He said that the public need not panic about the new variant, but advised them to not wait for directions from the government and start using the masks, maintain physical distance and avoid crowded places. He asked the people with comorbidities to be more carefu and those who have the symptoms to get their samples tested with RT-PCR or other methods.