SHILLONG, Jan 5: NEIGRIHMS Director, Prof Nalin Mehta has said Omicron is more contagious than the other variants of COVID-19 and advised people in the state to be on alert.
“We need to encourage people to strictly follow the COVID-induced protocols since the Omicron variant is extremely contagious. It spreads very fast but can be avoided by preventing overcrowding at marketplaces and maintaining physical distance,” Prof Mehta told The Shillong Times on Wednesday.
“We need to wear a mask when we are in public places and wash our hands frequently,” he said.
He also said that this new virus is not very serious “in terms of symptoms and data that are coming in”. He said it may affect a lot of children. NEIGRIHMS has a very good Department of Paediatrics, he added.
He said the institute is well-prepared in terms of manpower, isolation areas, ICUs and number of oxygen beds. He also said that the institute has 130 odd beds which are oxygen-ready, 70 odd beds in ICUs which will go up to 135 and isolation beds.
Stating that the institute has 70 ventilators compatible for children and paediatric care, he said as and when required, more beds will be made available in any areas that can be cordoned off from the rest of the hospital.
“The important thing is not the number of beds but isolation of patients. We have drawn a plan with all available resources,” the NEIGRIHMS director said.
“I am very satisfied with our preparations. We hope we have a very few cases. Precaution and prevention is the name of the game,” Prof Mehta said.
He said NEIGRIHMS has done very well from past experience. The institute is working well with the state government, especially in terms of sharing of data. He lauded it for handling the situation well.
“I was impressed how the state government had managed to collect and share the data of test results, data of people who are positive, number of patients admitted on a real time basis,” Prof Mehta said.
He said the institute is currently focusing on the treatment of non-COVID patients.
“We have put in place a system where a patient is tested with RAT as soon s/he is brought to the hospital. A negative result is followed by an RT-PCR test. If the person now turns out to be positive for COVID, s/he is isolated,” the NEIGRIHMS director said.
He said financial support to combat the pandemic is provided by the government from specific ECRP funds.
“The Ministry has been very active in offering the funds. We are comfortable with the funding. However, the only problem, being faced globally, is the shortage of COVID-related material including testing kits,” Prof Mehta said.
He further said the institute will continue with the isolation and accommodation facilities for doctors, nurses and staff taking care of COVID patients.