The Trauma Cenre at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi has been transformed into a dedicated Covid-care facility again owing to the sudden spike in cases in the state capital, doctors spearheading the Covid control programme at the state-run hospital said on Wednesday.

Some parts of centre were opened up for non-Covid patients after the district witnessed a drop in active caseload back in February. But now, things have changed dramatically. “The entire Trauma Centre has been transformed into a Covid-care facility. The top floor has an ICU and the remaining three floors are for Covid patients only. We have more than 100 available beds for Covid patients now,” said the nodal officer of the Covid control programme at RIMS, Dr Prabhat Kumar.

At the peak of Covid-19 cases in Ranchi, RIMS had at least 280 dedicated Covid beds, said doctors. The number of Covid beds at RIMS was reduced in January and February after the state registered a significant fall in the count of active cases, doctors said. The Covid care centre at the medicine ward was also made a non-Covid ward owing to the fall in cases. Now, with the rise in cases, at least 45 beds in the Paying Ward have also been made available for Covid patients, doctors said.

The count of Covid patients witnessed a sudden spike in Ranchi in the past couple of weeks. As per government data, in the first week of February, there were only 198 Covid patients in the district and by March 24, the count jumped to 404. By Tuesday night, there were more than 850 Covid patients in Jharkhand. As per latest figures compiled by the National Health Mission (NHM), as many as 252 people have died of the coronavirus infection in Ranch so far – the second highest among the 24 districts in Jharkhand.

The count of Covid beds at RIMS, however, was lower than the total number of patients in the district as many patients were being treated at home. Usually, patients with severe symptoms got admitted at RIMS, said doctors.

Doctors also fear that Holi may trigger a spike in Covid cases as it would be difficult to maintain social distancing during the festivities. Many health professionals have requested Jharkhand residents to refrain from smearing colour on each other this Holi.

“We have to be prepared for a further spike in cases. The number of patients may increase after Holi,” said Dr Kumar.