State health secretary Nitin Kulkarni sought to dispel fears about a shortage of beds to treat Covid patients amid a surge in cases, clarifying on Monday that Jharkhand has sufficient numbers.

“As for beds, concerns about which are being raked up in the media, I wish to state that currently we have 6,922 normal isolation beds in 24 districts,” Kulkarni told the media at Project Building, adding that of the 8,479 positive cases recorded in Jharkhand so far, 4,689 were active and 4,050 asymptomatic.

“At dedicated Covid health centres in the state, there are 2,411 beds. Of these, 1,956 are with oxygen support facilities and 58 with ventilator facilities. This apart, at 18 dedicated Covid hospitals in 18 places, we have 1,154 beds, of which 373 are with ICU facilities and 204 with ventilator support. Compare these with our active cases,” he said.

Over 300 fresh cases of Covid-19 infection surfaced in Jharkhand on Monday. The total count of active cases was close to 5,000 in the state. Four more Covid patients, including two in Ranchi, died during treatment on Monday, taking the death toll in the state to 90. As many as 101 Covid patients also recovered on Monday, according to NHM.

Kulkarni said among the current number of active cases, 23 patients were on oxygen support while 22 were on ventilators. “Our real concern is about those on ventilator support,” he said.

Kulkarni said that the recent surge in cases in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Hazaribagh has led to concerns of bed unavailability but insisted that the situation was under control in all these places.

“In Ranchi, we have 670 beds as on date and 500 more are ready at Khelgaon. In one week, 2,600 more beds will be added in the newly built quarters for the displaced at Dhurwa and at Mega Sports Complex in Khelgaon. This apart, 93 rooms are available in a private hotel,” he said.

Similarly, in Hazaribagh, he said, 664 beds were available and 980 new beds had come up. “In Dhanbad, 275 active beds are available, besides 260 that are to be added soon. In Jamshedpur, 850 beds are in hand and 750 more have been identified for ready use,” he added.

Since July, Jharkhand has witnessed a sudden surge in cases as well as fatalities. With 76 deaths till now, the state’s mortality rate has touched 1.01 per cent, but lower than the national average of about 2 per cent.

Conceding the surge, Kulkarni said that on June 30, the state’s doubling rate of Covid cases was 37 days. But within a month, it had come down to 1/3rd which was the biggest concern.

“People took it easy, thinking that the lockdown was over. The trend was for those with severe illnesses to turn up at hospitals at the last moment which shot up our fatality rates. We appeal to everyone not to wait till the last moment to go to a hospital. Also, it is high time we again become conscious of our behaviour to prevent the spread of the virus,” he said.

Kulkarni added that of late, movement of people between the Jharkhand-Bihar region and Bengal had added to the numbers. “We have discovered that in maximum cases here, there is a link with Bihar or Bengal either directly or indirectly,” he said.

Two new testing centres

Two medical colleges in Palamau and Dumka will soon begin RT-PCR labs, Kulkarni said. “The Palamau lab will be operational on Wednesday, while the Dumka lab will start later this week,” he said. Currently, labs at RIMS and Itki in Ranchi, MGM in Jamshedpur, PMCH in Dhanbad and Hazaribagh Medical College have RT-PCR labs.

This apart, private hospitals—TMH (Jamshedpur) and Gurunanak Hospital (Ranchi) _ are also empanelled for doing tests in addition to four private pathology labs.

Kulkarni said the state’s testing rate per million was 6,744 which was less than the national average of 11,000. “But the government is actively working to increase this at the earliest. In March, we had zero testing facilities. But today we have come far ahead. Soon, we will be able to conduct more tests as we are procuring 100 more Truenat machines in addition to the existing 87 in the district,” he said.

TMH to launch plasma therapy

RIMS in Ranchi will launch plasma therapy for critical Covid patients from Tuesday, Kulkarni said. TMH in Jamshedpur will soon follow. “We have managed to get a license for the TMH blood bank. They will start soon,” he said.