How Thiruvananthapuram is Fighting Covid19

IAS officer, Dr. Vinay Goyal talks in detail about the current Covid19 situation in his district in Kerala and how the district administration is controlling it.

It’s no surprise that the second wave of coronavirus is two times harsher than the first wave, and has engulfed lakhs of people already. The worst affected regions are Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, with many others following closely. The double mutant of the virus is difficult to scan and is taking lives left, right, and center.

At such a time, bureaucrats from all across the country are trying hard to save people from this catastrophe. Regarding this, Indian Masterminds exclusively talked with IAS officer Dr. Vinay Goyal, the District Development Commissioner of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala who explained the situation in his district and how the administration is dealing with it.

Dr. Vinay Goyal in a zoom meeting with health officials

MOTIVATING HIS STAFF

Just when things were starting to seem okay and the country was about to take a sigh of relief as the cases lowered at the beginning of the year, the second wave of corona hit us right in the guts, this time in an even crueler way. The bureaucratic staff didn’t even have time to take a break when they were made to work on the field again, to contain the spread of the virus.

“The staff was exhausted when the second wave arrived, so we took different steps and activities in order to motivate them. The motivation was necessary as these times can be extremely stressful for frontline workers and personnel,” Dr. Goyal told Indian Masterminds.

BRINGING BACK THE INFRASTRUCTURE

The first wave of the virus usually attacked the elderly and weak but the second wave is affecting every single person, from young to old, and even kids and infants. Such has been its ferocity that now doubles the number of people who require hospital beds and medical equipment.

“We are ensuring that the numbers of beds are adequate in our hospitals and medical colleges. The district is using 5 tier referral system which involves a) home isolation b) Domiciliary Care Centre c) Covid First-line treatment Center d) Covid Second Line Treatment Centre e) Covid Hospitals. 1st three categories cater to mild patients and the last two for moderate to severe patients. This system has helped the district to manage the majority of nonserious patients at the periphery so that the precious and scarce hospital beds are utilized for the needy.” said Dr. Goyal.

Checking out the arrangements with District Collector, Dr. Navjot Khosa

FORMING THE TRUE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

The district administration, under the leadership of Collector, Dr. Navjot Khosa, is also meeting with authorities from private hospitals to inform them about the condition and request them to earmark at least 50% of their beds for the estimated patients. Furthermore, they have given orders to treat each and every patient coming to the hospital. “We have told them to treat everyone and nobody should be sent back,” he emphasized.

COVID MANAGEMENT ON PANCHAYAT LEVEL

The district administration has activated their ‘panchayat’ level machinery that plays a big role in Covid 19 management in Kerala.

“We have 73 panchayats in Thiruvananthapuram and are getting Test Positivity Rate (TPR) panchayat wise. It shows how many percentages of their people are tested positive and those panchayats that have a percentage higher than 15%, we ask them to identify their buildings so that the load is shifted to Covid hospitals and they can get treated accordingly,” he told Indian Masterminds.

If the person has mild symptoms, they can be managed in those institutions.

SECTOR MAGISTRATE

Kerala has a concept of ‘Sector Magistrate’, who has the power to control crowds and situations, especially during rush hours in the evening. The district administration has deployed around 150 such sector magistrates for the entire district.

“He will be given a list and along with a policeman, he will go to all the crowded places to see if the people are following the essential guidelines or not. We have also increased our checking as people have lowered their guard. We are also making use of social media posts to raise awareness about the guidelines and are motivating them to put masks,” stated the officer.

With the help of District Disaster Management Authority Orders, the district has also brought out checks on restricting people gatherings and shutting down of restaurants and public places after 9 PM. Moreover, he has increased the pace of vaccination in the district at all levels.

Dr. Goyal in the Covid war room meeting chaired by district collector, Dr. Khosa

DISTRICT PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT UNIT (DPMSU)

The administration has formed a ‘Covid war room’ in the collectorate where 60 people work around the clock in three shifts comprising of a team of doctors and volunteers. The main role of DPMSU is ‘patient management.

“When the list of positive patients comes out, we categorize them according to their condition in terms of A, B, and C. ‘A’ category is for people with mild symptoms who will be shifted to Covid First-Line Treatment Center (CFLTC) with 17 centers and 2000 beds to isolate them from the community. Covid Second Line Treatment Center (CSLTC) with 15 centers and 1000 beds will take category ‘B’ people who have a little serious condition. And if the person is very serious and requires oxygen, then we will move them to hospitals.”

They are making sure that every person is channelized through this system which has become a nerve center for Covid management.

AMBULANCE MODULE

All the ambulances available in the city have been linked with DPMSU module and once a call center receives a call about any patient, the case will be transferred to the officer in-charge of ambulances, who will make sure that the patient is picked and sent to the required center.

“We have started hiring shielded taxis now that the patient load is increasing. The taxis will be compartmentalized and the driver will be also be fully protected so that he could comfortably move the patients. We have registered around 200-300 shielded taxis.

OXYGENATED BEDS

To avoid the lack of oxygen in centers, the district administration is making their CSLTC beds, 100% oxygenated. Moreover, they have also established an ‘Oxygen war room’ with the ‘Covid war room’ comprising of a team of doctors and technicians.

“We will collect data from private hospitals regarding their requirement and consumption of oxygen based on which we will make a list of all the hospitals and ensure that cylinders are delivered timely to the private hospitals.