Govt issues guidelines on Covid-19 management in rural, peri-urban areas

As rural areas see a rise in Covid19 cases the Centre on Sunday issued new guidelines for containment of the virus advising that periurban and rural areas plan a minimum 30bedded Covid Care Centre for asymptomatic cases with comorbidities or mild cases where home isolation is not feasibleProvision of Rapid Antigen Test RAT kits should be made at all public health facilities including Subcentres or Health and Wellness Centres and Primary Health Centres the Union Health Ministry saidNoting that besides urban areas reporting a large number of cases a gradual ingress is now being seen in periurban rural and tribal areas as well the ministry released the SOP on Covid19 Containment and Management in Periurban Rural amp Tribal areas to enable communities strengthen primary level healthcare infrastructure at all levels to intensify Covid19 responseAlso Read Mumbai No Covid19 vaccinations at public centres this weekendIt said Covid Care Centres CCC can admit a suspect or confirmed case but should have separate areas for suspected and confirmed cases with preferably separate entry and exit for eachSuspect and confirmed cases should not be allowed to mix under any circumstances the SOP saidAccording to the SOP in every village active surveillance should be done for influenzalike illness severe acute respiratory infectionsILISARI periodically by ASHA with help of Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committee VHSNCSymptomatic cases can be triaged at village level by teleconsultation with Community Health Officer CHO and cases with comorbidity or low oxygen saturation should be sent to higher centresIdentified suspected Covid19 cases should link for testing to health facilities either through Covid19 rapid antigen testing or by referral of samples to nearest Covid19 testing laboratory in accordance with ICMR guidelinesCHOs and ANMs should be trained in performing Rapid Antigen Testing Provision of RAT kits should be made at all public health facilities including Subcentres Health and Wellness Centres and Primary Health Centres the document saidDepending upon the intensity of surge and number of cases as far as feasible contact tracing should be done as per Integrated Disease Surveillance Programmes IDSPs guidelines it statedNearly 8085 per cent Covid19 cases are asymptomatic mildly symptomatic These patients do not require hospitalisation and may be managed at home or in Covid care isolation facilities the SOP statedAs monitoring of oxygen saturation is important for monitoring of Covid19 patients it is desirable for each village to have adequate number of pulse oximeters and thermometersThe SOP recommended developing a system of providing pulse oximeters and thermometers on loan to families with a confirmed case of Covid19 through ASHA Anganwadi workers and villagelevel volunteersPulse oximeters and thermometers should be sanitised after each use with cotton or cloth soaked in alcoholbased sanitiserFollowups for patients undergoing isolation or quarantine could be done through household visits by a frontline worker volunteers teacher duly following required infection prevention practices including use of medical mask and other appropriate precautionsHome Isolation kit shall be provided to all such cases which should include required medicines such as Paracetamol 500 mg Tab Ivermectin cough syrup multivitamins as prescribed by the treating doctor besides a detailed pamphlet indicating precautions to be taken medication details monitoring proforma for patient condition during home isolation contact details in case of any major symptoms or deterioration of health condition and the discharge criteria the SOP statedThe health infrastructure planned for periiquesturban rural and tribal areas shall be aligned to the already mentioned 3tier structure COVID Care Centre CCC to manage mild or asymptomatic cases Dedicated COVID Health Centre DCHC to manage moderate cases and Dedicated COVID Hospital DCH to manage severe cases according to the documentThe CCCs are makeshift facilities under the supervision of nearest PHCCHC and may be set up in schools community halls marriage halls panchayat buildings in close proximity of hospitals or healthcare facilities or tentage facilities in panchayat land school ground etcThese CCCs should be mapped to one or more Dedicated Covid19 health centres and at least one Dedicated Covid19 Hospital for referral purposesSuch Covid care centres should also have a Basic Life Support Ambulance BLSA networked among such CCCs equipped with sufficient oxygen support on 24x7 basis for ensuring safe transport of patients to dedicated higher facilities if the symptoms progress from mild to moderate or severePrimary Health Centres or Community Health Centres and Sub District Hospitals in these areas shall be the Dedicated Covid19 Health Centre for management of Covid19 The facility may plan a minimum of 30 bedded DCHC District should be prepared to increase DCHC beds as per the case trajectory and expected surge of cases the document statedThese centres shall offer care for all cases that have been clinically assigned as moderate Patient breathless Respiratory Rate more than 24 per minute Saturation between 90 to lt9437 on room airDistrict hospitals or other identified private hospitals or a block of these hospitals shall be converted as dedicated Covid19 hospitalsIn addition subdistrict or block level hospitals fulfilling the requirements may also be designated as dedicated Covid19 hospitals for the identified CCC and DHCC in their catchment area The upgradation in health facilities shall be undertaken based on case trajectory or the surge in cases the SOP statedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its 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