Thrissur district ramps up facilities to meet any Coronavirus eventuality

Kochi, Mar 27: Having gained valuable experience in successfully treating the country's first COVID-19 case,the Thrissur district administration has chalked out a three-stage plan to face a possible outbreak, including community transmission, of the disease by ramping up infrastructure such as isolation wards and ICU beds.

"A comprehensive three level plan is ready to deal with any emergency situation arising out of a massive coronavirus attack in the district," a district official said. As per plan A, the district administration has prepared 200 isolation wards in best government and private healthcare centres including Government Medical College Hospital, General Hospital, District hospital and two private private hospitals. Intensive care units, modern scientific facilities, operation theatres and ventilators are ready in these hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients, the District Information Office said.

Plan B is prepared to deal with a second stage of outbreak. If such a scenario arises, isolation wards are prepared in Taluk hospitals, hospitals in private and cooperative sectors. Modern facilities including intensive care units are ready in such hospitals to treat the disease. Plan C is prepared to deal with a likely scenario of community spread of the disease.

In case, if the disease spread in community, isolation wards will be set up in Ayush, Homeo, ESI hospitals and nursing homes in the district. All basic facilities for treating the disease will be made in such facilities, the District Information Office said. District Collector S Shanavas said in case if more cases are reported as part of the community spread, Karuna Care Centres will be prepared across the district.

Some 15,000 beds will be arranged in rest houses, auditoriums, hostels, schools and training centres, which would be converted as Karuna Care Centres, the Collector said. So far 3,000 beds have been identified in such facilities, he said. India had reported its first case of novel coronavirus in Thrissur on January 31, when a woman studying in China's Wuhan University had tested positive for the deadly virus.

After the first positive case was reported from Thrissur, two other Keralite students from Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, had tested positive in Alappuzha and Kasaragod districts. All of them were discharged after proper treatment at various government facilities.