District-wide mock drill held to check COVID preparedness

• Exercise takes stock of ICU beds, oxygenated beds, oxygen generation, supply units
• No need for panic but precautions, safety measures mandatory: District Health Officer

Mysore/Mysuru: Amid rising COVID-19 cases, a nationwide mock drill to take stock of hospital preparedness was held this morning where both public and private facilities were assessed for their readiness to combat the pandemic in case there is an outbreak like in 2020 and 2021.

As on today, Mysuru has 43 COVID-positive cases and three patients who have comorbidities have been admitted to the K.R. Hospital. According to District Health Officer (DHO) Dr. K.H. Prasad, there is no need for panic as the administration is geared up for any outbreak and has the necessary infrastructure to handle it. Even if there are more cases, existing infrastructure can be scaled up according to the requirements, he added. 

In a review meeting held on Apr. 7, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had urged State Health Ministers and Secretaries to visit hospitals and oversee the mock drills. He had also advised them to review preparedness with District Administrations and Health Officials.

He had said that irrespective of the new variants, the five-fold strategy of ‘Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and adherence to COVID-Appropriate Behaviour’ remains the tested strategy for the pandemic management.

As part of the nation-wide mock drill, such exercises were conducted in Mysuru also where the infrastructure, oxygen generation and supply plants, ICU beds, ventilator beds, oxygenated beds and normal beds in all the Government Hospitals were taken into account and preparedness was assessed.

Primarily, all the available facilities at the Govt. Hospitals including K.R. Hospital, District Hospital, Cheluvamba Hospital, PKTB Sanatorium, Trauma Care Centre, ESI Hospital, Princess Krishnajammanni Super Speciality Hospital and Seth Mohandas Tulsidas Maternity Hospital were listed and reviewed.

RT-PCR tests only for symptomatic people

“We have been directed by the Government about the need to identify emergency hotspots by monitoring trends of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) cases, ramping up testing and vaccination, and ensuring readiness of hospital infrastructure,” DHO Dr. Prasad revealed.

Besides enhancing genome sequencing and ramping up whole genome sequencing of positive samples, the Government has emphasised creating awareness about following COVID-Appropriate Behaviour. “There is no need for panic but a general alert, precautions and safety measures like wearing good quality masks are necessary,” he added.

“We are prepared to deal with the spike in infections. ICU beds, oxygen supply and other critical care arrangements are in place and there will be a periodic review of preparedness,” Dr. Prasad explained.