Chandigarh seeks 20K PPE kits from Central Govt

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 3

All three major hospitals of the city — PGIMER, GMCH-32 and GMSH-16 — have only 1,336 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits in stock for doctors and medical staff treating Covid patients.

UT Health Secretary Arun Gupta said, “The usage of PPE will depend on the number of cases. Shifting of all Covid patients to the PGI is also a step towards reducing a number of health workers requiring PPE. We have already placed an order of more than 20,000 PPE with the Central Government. It may come after a week or so.”

As far as Covid preparations in the city are concerned, there are 26,900 N95 masks, 295 isolation beds, 24 ventilators and 46 ICU beds. The PGI had also ordered over 10,000 PPE from government-authorised suppliers, but due to the acute shortage of stock in the country, the delivery has not been made possible yet. The UT Administration has yesterday sent 200 PPE kits to the PGI.

So far, the Central Government has sent 1,000 PPE, 5,000 masks and 1,000,00 hydroxychloroquine for use in medical institutions.

8 patients shifted to PGI

Even as doctors at the PGIMER opposed the Administration’s step to shift all positive patients in the city to the Nehru Extension Block (now Covid hospital), seven positive patients from the GMCH-32 and one positive patient from the GMSH-16 were shifted to the PGI today.

PGI Director Dr Jagat Ram said neighbouring states should not send suspected cases without first locally testing them, lest the facility in Chandigarh got overcrowded. The UT Administrator today said all doctors should work together and testing should be done simultaneously in both centres (GMCH-32 and GMSH-16).

Ex-Ragi’s 12 more contacts traced, quarantined

Twelve more contacts of Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa, a former Hazoori Ragi of Golden Temple, were traced and home-quarantined. Now, there are 98 contacts of Ragi. Besides, a total of 123 who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat event at different places in the country have been home-quarantined.