Enhance manpower, infrastructure to fight pandemic: PTF
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 16 2021: People's Task Force (PTF) for Covid-19 has suggested that the government enhances infrastructure and manpower apart from taking up stringent actions to contain COVID-19 pandemic.

PTF publicity and propaganda in-charge Angamba Meitei said in a statement that the government has imposed curfew and lockdown to contain the pandemic.

However, positive cases have been increasing and hovering around the 700-mark with Covid related fatalities recording over 10 daily since the past few days.

So, the government needs to look deeper into the reason and mistakes, if any, behind high positivity and fatality rates and take a firm and stringent decision to fight the pandemic.

The Government also needs to take up necessary actions to save lives of human being on a war footing, the statement said, adding that registering positivity rate over 20 percent since the past few days indicates that the rate of spreading the dangerous variant is very high and fatality rate unprecedented.

When looking into rate of oxygen produced by private and government plants as well as number of Covid beds, ICU and ventilators available at JNIMS and RIMS and shortage of doctors, nurses and staff in these two hospitals, the task force considers that positivity rate has increased as the state is unable to fight the second wave of the pandemic, the statement said and expressed concern that the state could become one of the worst COVID-19 hit states of the country in the coming few days.

It is very unfortunate that precious human lives could not be saved in the hospitals and some private hospitals are unable to admit both Covid and non-Covid patients, the statement said, adding that there are only 258 Covid beds at RIMS and JNIMS hospitals.

Apart from this, there are only 18 ventilators at JNIMS and the big hospital RIMS has not more than 10 ventilators.

Hence, it would be impossible for the state to effectively fight the pandemic when daily positive cases are increasing more than 700 and have only 258 Covid beds including 28 ventilators.

As per experts, the variant of the virus in the second wave is highly transmissible than the first wave.

The second wave variant is more fatal to moderate and severe patients as 40-50 percent require oxygen support as against only 5-10 percent in the first wave.

Among patients requiring oxygen support in the second wave, 10-15 percent is in critical stage and need ventilator support in ICU, the statement said.

Expressing concern that oxygen produced in the state as well as imported from outside are unable to meet requirement in view of current positivity rate, the statement said oxygen plant at RIMS hospital could produce only 40 D type cylinder but the hospital requires 270 D type cylinder daily.

Shija hospital produce around 250 D type cylinder and is able to meet daily requirement at present but the private hospital could face shortage if Covid beds increased.

HVS oxygen plant could produce 240 D type cylinder and more than 400 B type cylinder daily.

Manipur oxygen plant at Bishnupur could produce 300 D type cylinder daily in addition to 200 B type cylinder.

Total oxygen production in the state by both private and government firms is around 900 D type cylinder but a report of the state health directorate mentioned that the state requires 1393 D type cylinder daily and 474 B type cylinder.

This means that oxygen requirement in the state is much higher than production and accordingly unable to supply oxygen requirement of both private and government hospitals as well as Covid care centres, the statement said and demanded clarity from the government on amount of oxygen to be imported from outside.

It also demanded from the government a clear cut policy on supplying oxygen to Covid patients and establishment of production units to meet shortage.

The task force also demanded construction of a 1000 capacity Covid hospital with 300 ICU facilities within a short period to fight the pandemic in view of increasing moderate and severe patients.

It also asked government to take stringent action to save people of the state from the pandemic by requisitioning necessary doctors, nurses and other medical staff.

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