GUWAHATI, April 26: Amid the COVID-19 surge in the state, the Assam health department on Monday assured that it has an adequate stock of Remdesivir injections and medical oxygen apart from ICUs and COVID beds to meet the requirements for a week to 10 days.
“We have reviewed our oxygen position. During the past 10 days, we have rejuvenated our old plants and also set up new PSA (pressure swing adsorption) plants. In the process, our oxygen capacity has been increased to 61 MT (metric tonnes) per day as against the current requirement of 20 MT per day,” Assam health and family welfare minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters here on Monday.
“Our oxygen storage capacity has also been increased to 468 MT. I feel our oxygen situation should remain stable in the next ten days,” Sarma said, adding that three oxygen plants set up at GMCH with Centre’s aid are functional now while over the next seven days, three more plamts in the state will be operationalised.
Besdes, he said that about 50 metric tonnes of oxygen would be supplied in the next 45 days from Bhutan.
In regard to Remdesivir injections, the health minister said that there was a decent stock of 25,000 injections, and that under a new scheme, patients of nursing homes and private hospitals would be provided Remdesivir injections at government-procured rates.
“We have a stock of 2500 Remdesivir injections for nursing homes kept at an emergency store. Besides there are 1000 vials for patients from Assam living outside the state
Sarma also said that in the past 10 days, a substantial number of ICU beds have been added to the existing infrastructure.
“The number of ICU beds has increased to 92 in Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, 24 in Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital and 38 in Kalapahar COVID hospital. So we have 154 ICU beds in three hospitals currently against the capacity 52 patients at present,” he said.
The number of COVID beds to have been enhanced. “We currently have 2120 beds as against 1852 active patients. So, we need not worry about any shortage of beds for the next seven days at least.