Odisha to rope in AYUSH personnel
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to rope in 1,620 AYUSH personnel to combat COVID-19 in the state, an official said on Wednesday. They will be given the necessary training to contain the disease. AYUSH personnel, including doctors and PG and undergraduate students (final year and 3rd year), staff nurses, and ANMs will be imparted training on COVID, the official said. The health department has asked the district authorities to prepare a list of AYUSH personnel in their jurisdiction for training and capacity building to control the disease. In a letter, Health secretary Nikunja Dhal said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is developing a training module in this regard. According to the letter, the management of AYUSH personnel has been placed under the control of the Chief District Medical and Public health Officers. The District Ayurveda Medical Officers and District Homeopathy Medical Officers will work as wing officers. (IANS)
30 doctors, nurses quarantined
New Delhi: Around 30 healthcare workers including doctors, nurses and technicians at the Cardio-Neuro Centre in AIIMS here have been advised to undergo quarantine after a 72-year-old man who visited the facility with neurological problem tested positive for COVID-19, sources said on Wednesday. The patient had reported to the emergency with brain stroke symptoms around two days back and was immediately shifted to the Neurology ward N-S5 for evaluation and treatment. “He was then subjected to radiological investigations like CT and MRI and was kept in a cubicle with other patients. He later complained of chest and respiratory distress after which his chest X-ray was done and and he was intubated. “There was some suspicion over his respiratory problems and his sample was taken and sent for testing which came out positive for COVID-19,” a source said. According to an official, the patient was immediately transported to AIIMS Trauma Centre, which has been converted into a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, and contact tracing has been initiated. (PTI)
UP to seal hotspots till April 15
Lucknow: The UP government has decided to ‘firmly implement’ the lockdown and ‘completely seal’ the hotspots in 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh that have emerged as Corona hotspots. The hotspots will remain sealed till April 15 during which intensive sanitization work will be undertaken. The districts that have hotspots include Lucknow, Noida, Ghaziabad, Sitapur, Kanpur, Agra, Ferozabad, Bareilly, Meerut, Shamli, Saharanpur, Bulandshahr, Varanasi, Maharajganj and Basti. Briefing reporters, additional chief secretary home Avanish Awasthi said that in the identified districts there are multiple hotspots. In Agra, identified hotspots are 22, Ghaziabad (13), Gautam Buddha Nagar and Kanpur (12 each), Varanasi (4), Shamli (3), Meerut (7), Bulandshahr, Basti and Ferozabad (3 each), Bareilly (1), Sitapur (1), Saharanpur and Maharajganj (4 each) and 12 in Lucknow. Twelve hotspots identified in the affected districts had already been sealed earlier. These include four localities of Varanasi and Meerut and three in Lucknow. (PTI)