SHILLONG, July 23: People admitted to hospitals at the very last stage have accounted for 95% of the COVID-19 deaths across the state in the past seven days.
Out of the 78 deaths reported in a week, 76 were not vaccinated while two had received a dose of the vaccine.
“Most of them got tested for COVID-19 only after reaching the hospitals. There is a lot of delay in seeking treatment,” Health Principal Secretary, Sampath Kumar said after an emergent meeting of the death audit committee at his chamber here on Friday evening.
He said 52.85% of those who died had comorbidities.
With East Khasi Hills district recording 21 COVID-19 deaths during the last 48 hours, Deputy Commissioner Isawanda Laloo issued an urgent public advisory, appealing citizens to take the vaccine without fail.
The advisory stated that 11 of the deceased were from the rural areas and 10 from urban areas of the district.
According to her, 19 were not vaccinated and two were partially vaccinated.
According to official reports, three were non-institutional deaths and two were brought dead to the hospital.
Among the 18 institutional deaths, 15 were brought to the hospital 48 hours after the onset of the symptoms, including six who were brought after more than five days of the onset of the symptoms. Twelve died after more than five days of hospitalisation.
The advisory also said that early presentation to a medical facility prevents further deterioration of health and death.
The DC also advised citizens not to ignore any sign or symptom of COVID-19 and get tested at the earliest.
Speaking about the spike in cases, Kumar said that the state has been recording more than 450 new positive cases on an average in the last seven days.
“The trend is a matter of concern,” he said.
The Health Principal Secretary also advised the people to not ignore any signs and symptoms of COVID-19 in view of the increasing number of cases and deaths in the state. The rise in the number of cases has led to more hospitalisation, he said.
“We have received reports that many ICU beds in Shillong are occupied,” Kumar said, adding that the highly infectious Delta variant has been a major worry.
“Other states are not suffering much since they are not affected by the Delta variant. About 90% of the samples we had sent for testing have been confirmed cases of the Delta variant,” he said.
Stating that the government cannot restrain people for a long time, he said that it is important that everyone is vaccinated.
“We will observe and if the cases continue to increase, we will have to go for micro-containment measures. Localities with a large number of cases will have to be contained,” Kumar said.
He further said the people need to report symptoms and get tested at the earliest so that proper care can be advised and monitoring can be done. “Any flu that lasts for more than five days should not be mistaken as fever. It is important to reach out to the hospitals for treatment,” he added.
The Principal Secretary said the District and Medical Health Officer has been asked to ensure private practitioners also report if their patients develop any symptoms. “We will also monitor the patients they are treating very closely,” he said.
Asserting that there is a need to de-stigmatise, he said that people can go to hospitals on their own to seek treatment if there is any symptom of COVID-19.
“People are hesitant to call an ambulance since the entire locality would come to see people wearing PPEs. They do not want to be stigmatised,” Kumar said.
All the COVID-19 deaths reported in the past seven days could have been prevented with timely treatment, he felt. “Once you are put in a ventilator, the chances of survival are less,” he said.
He further said the restrictions on handling bodies of COVID-19 victims have been relaxed.
“We understand that the family members would like to pay homage to those who passed away. We have issued an instruction that wearing of PPEs suit is no longer required to cremate the COVID-19 victims,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, expressing concern over the worsening situation, senior Congress leader Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “We have to figure out what is not right and deal with this scenario all over again.”
Lapses over COVID-19 protocols and the apprehension of citizens to come forward for testing could be some of the contributing factors, she said.
She also suggested that the government should conduct free RT-PCR tests. “Charging Rs 500 for the test may worsen the situation. The huge medical bills have compelled citizens to reach out for help until it is too late,” she added.
