COVID-19: No ICU Beds In 60 Per Cent Of District Hospitals In Assam

Guwahati: As many as 60 per cent of district hospitals in Assam do not have ICU beds, and the facility is not available in any of the sub-divisional civil hospitals (SDCHs) in the state, Health and Family Welfare Minister Keshab Mahanta informed the assembly on Friday. In response to a question by Congress member Nurul Huda, the minister said that out of 25 district hospitals in the state, only 10 have ICU beds.

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The total number of ICU beds in district hospitals is 178. ICU beds are being arranged in seven such hospitals, he added. There are no ICU beds in any of the 15 SDCHs in the state, Mr. Mahanta said.

While 20 of the district hospitals have oxygen beds, eight SDCHs have that facility. The number of oxygen beds in district hospitals is 458and it is 63 in SDCHs, according to the minister. Five district hospitals have neither ICU beds nor oxygen beds, while 11 have both facilities, which include one district hospital with semi-ICU beds.

The state’s district hospitals and SDCHs have 4,839and 994 beds respectively, the minister said. The minister also informed the House that 40 PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) Oxygen Generator Plants have been sanctioned by the Central government for the state, out of which nine have been commissioned.

Ten more PSA plants with foreign aid or under corporate social responsibility (CSR) of various organisations have also been proposed, of which one has already been installed. The state government has proposed the installation of14 PSA Oxygen Generator Plants, with a total output capacity of 7000 litres per minute (LPM), Mr. Mahanta added. Meanwhile, the minister said that Kamrup Metropolitan district which primarily comprises the city of Guwahati has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the second wave of the pandemic since April.

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Kamrup Metro and West Karbi Anglong districts also have the highest and lowest number of vaccinated people respectively, Mr. Mahanta said while replying to a question by BJP legislator Terash Gowalla. Altogether 79,24,641 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the state till July 11. At the top of the vaccination list is Kamrup Metropolitan where 9,64,953 vaccine doses have been administered so far, followed by Dibrugarh with 4,40,150 doses and Nagaon with 4,26,149 doses.

Altogether 54,104 vaccine doses have been administered in West Karbi Anglong district till July 11, placing it at the bottom of the vaccination list. South Salmara Mankachar (56,053) and Dima Hasao (77,555) are the two districts above it.

As many as 3,13,672 new cases have been detected during the period in the state, Mr. Mahanta said. Kamrup Metropolitan has so far reported the highest number of cases at 55,744 in the second wave from April 1 to July 10. It is followed by Dibrugarh (21,616) and Kamrup Rural(18,486).

West Karbi Anglong district reported the least number of new cases at 945 in the second wave, Mr. Mahanta informed the House. Majuli (1,133 cases) and South Salmara Mankachar (1,738 cases) are just above West Karbi Anglong.

Altogether 4,812 Covid-19 deaths have been reported in the state between April 1 to July 10 this year, the minister added. The highest number of deaths has been recorded in Kamrup Metropolitan with 940 fatalities, followed by Dibrugarh (432) and Tinsukia (291). With only three fatalities between April 1 to July 10this year, West Karbi Anglong district has the lowest number of deaths in the second wave in the state. Majuli and Dima Hasao are above it with 10 and 16 deaths respectively.

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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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