‘During second wave, 60-70% of patients required hospitalisation’
The number of admissions of patients to hospitals seem to be markedly low compared to the previous wave of COVID-19. Only unvaccinated people and those with pre-existing ailments require admission, doctors said.
When Tiruchi and Thanjavur districts had reported around 400 cases during the second wave of COVID-19 in May 2021, at least 60-70% of the patients required hospitalisation. This time, however, less than 20% are admitted in wards, with an even lesser percentage requiring oxygen and admission to Intensive Care Units (ICU), a senior health official in Tiruchi told The Hindu.
Describing the triage and admission process, the official said that the State government protocol is being followed. If a patient reports positive, only symptomatic contacts or those over the age of 60 with comorbidities are traced and tested. The positive patients are sent to triage centres, present at all government hospitals in the district, and in each of the 14 blocks. “The vitals of the patient is checked and if they are vaccinated and do not have any comorbidities, they are sent to home quarantine or to the COVID Care Centres,” the official said. If the patient requires medical attention, they are sent to be admitted.
Even with a positivity rate of around 10%, the number of deaths reported is markedly low compared to last year, the official added.
In Thanjavur
In Thanjavur district too a similar pattern is emerging. "We have only six to eight patients in ICU and emergency care for COVID-19. This is a dramatic difference compared to last year," S. Ravikumar, Dean, Thanjavur Medical College Hospital told The Hindu.
The difference is vaccination, he added. "We are seeing only unvaccinated or people with already existing complications being admitted to hospitals," he said. In Thanjavur, only about 50 patients are admitted in the general COVID wards, and less than 10 in ICU care. Nearly 140 of them are being monitored at the COVID Care Centre in Vallam.
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