Containment ops sub-optimal in Maharashtra districts: Central teams

The Central teams deputed to Maharashtra to coordinate the response to the coronavirus pandemic have observed that containment operations were suboptimal in Satara Sangli and Aurangabad districts says a report sent by the Centre to the state governmentThe teams found less than satisfactory perimeter control and lack of active surveillance in COVID19 cases the report sent by the Union Health Ministry said Efforts at surveillance and contact tracing were found to be suboptimal in Buldhana Satara Aurangabad and Nanded mostly due to limited manpower engaged in this taskThe team from Bhandara has reported that most cases are being reported from outside of containment zones the report said The report addressed to Maharashtras Principal Secretary Health Pradeep Vyas said the ministry has been actively engaging with the state government in coordinating and collaborating efforts towards preparedness and response to the pandemicThe Centre has sent Central teams to the 30 most affected districts in Maharashtra and these teams are working with the district administration to understand the spread of COVID19 provide support and supervision and suggest workable solutions to curb the spread the report saidThe teams have been tasked to work with the district authorities on preparedness and response with a focus on testing contact tracing and containment operations Covid appropriate behaviour and its enforcement hospital infrastructure and availability of logistic and vaccination progress the report said The testing capacity in Satara Bhandara Palghar Amravati Jalna and Latur districts is already overwhelmed resulting in a delay in reporting of test results the report saidThe Central teams from Nanded and Buldhana have reported a very skewed RTPCRRAT ratio Community resistance to COVID19 testing has also been reported from the Bhandara district ln Bhandara and Satara a large percentage of COVID 19 patients are under home isolation which requires rigorous follow up to minimize mortality Such a follow up is not happening presently it saidIt was also observed that delayed reporting by patients to definitive treatment centres in Satara district is leading to a large number of deaths within the first few hours of hospital admission the report saidOccupancy rates of available hospital bed capacity are very high in Ahmednagar Aurangabad Nagpur and Nandurbar districts The team to Aurangabad reported dependency of the district on neighbouring districts for management of critical patients and critical care infrastructure upgradation thereon the report saidMedical oxygen supply was found to be an issue in Bhandara Palqhar Osmanabad and Pune Malfunctioning ventilators have been reported by teams from Satara and Latur districts Hospital level and district level oxygen planning must start without any delay as per guidance issued by the ministry it saidThe Central teams also found an acute shortage of healthcare workforce in Aurangabad Nandurabar Yawatmal Satara Palghar Jalgaon and Jalna districts It has suggested that rostering of health care workers and hiring of contractual health workers need to be expedited Data management in Satara and Ahmednagar districts is faced with issues due to the shortage of manpower the report saidAdherence to Covidappropriate behaviour was found to be lacking in almost all the districts which the Central teams visited the report said Maharashtra recorded 63294 new coronavirus cases on Sunday its highest singleday rise since the pandemic began taking the caseload to 3407245 the state health department said The death of 349 coronavirus patients on Sunday took the states toll to 57987 it addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever