The Sivasagar district administration has pulled up its sleeves in view of the alarming rise in COVID-19 positive cases in the district as well as across the state and the country.

Notably, Sivasagar registered 211 positive cases on January 18, 2022, compared to 180 on the previous day.

In an all-importance review chaired by the deputy commissioner Megha Nidhi Dahal in the Sukapha Conference Hall of the Deputy Commissioner’s office premises on January 17, 2022, the deputy commissioner reviewed the preparedness of the health department to tackle the pandemic that has again reared its ugly head in the past few days.

The deputy commissioner, who himself had recuperated from the dreaded virus just days before, took stock of the precautionary measures in the wake of the COVID-19 upsurge, available medical facilities, and other related infrastructure in the meeting attended by officials from the health department along with administrative officials.

The deputy commissioner discussed in detail the preparedness of the health department in particular and took stock of the available resources.

He expressed satisfaction that, at present, there are 480 beds available in various hospitals in the district to accommodate COVID-19 patients.

Among these, there are over 400 beds with oxygen facilities attached to them, while there are 40 ICU beds with ventilation facilities.

The deputy commissioner also directed the health department to increase the number of beds if the need arises. He also directed the department to facilitate isolation and quarantine facilities for COVID-19 patients, apart from setting up COVID Care Centres across the district.

The deputy commissioner also asked the health department to increase the number of Rapid Antigen Tests and RTPCR across the district.

He asked all government and private hospitals to conduct rapid antigen tests for all patients except emergency cases.

The deputy commissioner also directed the health department to provide COVID-19 testing kits free of cost to private hospitals. He also made it clear that private hospitals are not entitled to charge any extra fees in the name of COVID testing.

The deputy commissioner also directed the health department to keep on standby all unused and additional oxygen cylinders available in various hospitals across the district.

He also asked the health department to complete the process of administering precautionary COVID-19 vaccine doses to all health workers, frontline workers in the fight against the pandemic, and safai workers by next Thursday.

The deputy commissioner further urged all stakeholders to expedite COVID-19 awareness programmes among the masses.

He also urged all citizens to consult a medical practitioner and go for COVID-19 testing in cases of colds, fevers and coughs instead of buying over-the-counter medicines from pharmacies.

He made an ardent appeal to all concerned to stand united in this fight against the third wave of the pandemic.

The meeting was attended by ADC in-charge of the Health department, Bitupon Neog; revenue circle officer Dr Jiban Krishna Goswami; joint director of health services Dr Shyamanta Madhab Sarma; district immunisation officer Dr Arundhuti Bora Hazarika; district surveillance officer Dr Gayatri Senapati; chief medical officer Dr Hemanta Baruah; and superintendent of Sivasagar Civil Hospital Dr Saurav Gogoi, among others.