Corona: Gujarat’s ‘health model’ scary condition, deaths are happening fast
Gujarat, the home state of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is one of the worst affected states due to the Corona infection.
After Maharashtra, Gujarat was the state where corona infection spread rapidly and the rate of death due to virus has also been a matter of constant concern.
According to the Indian Ministry of Health, on June 5, about 65 per cent of the more than 2 lakh 16 thousand corona infected in the country are in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Gujarat alone.
74,860 in Maharashtra, 25,872 in Tamil Nadu, 23,000 in Delhi are infected. Gujarat is at number four where more than 18 thousand people are corona infected but if we look at the statistics of those who died from Kovid-19, then this sequence changes.
The death toll in Maharashtra is 2587, 1122 in Gujarat, 606 in Delhi and 208 in Tamil Nadu.
High mortality
The rate of deaths due to corona infection in the country has been three percent, but the death rate in Gujarat has been high since the beginning.
What is the reason for this? In response, Dr. Bharat Gadhavi, Regional Director, HCG Group of Hospitals, says, “The big reason is that people are coming late for treatment and they are finding it difficult to save.”
They say this is not the case in Tamil Nadu. As soon as symptoms appear, a doctor should be contacted immediately.
Gadhvi says that government policies are also poor. Initially testing and isolation was happening with great enthusiasm, but now the government administration seems to be tired.
Ahmedabad’s doctor Somendra Desai says that one reason is that diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity are more common in Gujarat than other states.
The government claims that most of the deaths have occurred in the high risk zone. Nine percent of the deaths have occurred in the high risk age group i.e. less than five years and more than 60 years. 77 percent of the patients were suffering from other diseases while 14 percent of the patients had no other disease.
The Central Government sent Dr. Randeep Guleria, the head of the country’s largest AIIMS Hospital, on a visit to the Civil Hospital and Ahmedabad in May.
Regarding more deaths due to corona in Ahmedabad, he said that people still have ‘stigma’ about Kovid-19, people are still afraid of coming to the hospital for tests. Late hospitalization also affects treatment.
Dr. Guleria also said that patients who have mild symptoms suddenly get depressed due to lack of oxygen, this is called ‘Happy Hypoxia’ and by the time they start breathing, their condition has become serious. it occurs.
Apart from this, the talk of separate strains of corona virus in Gujarat was rejected by the government and ICMR.
Vijay Rupani blamed the tabloid Jamaat for Corona in Gujarat
How did the infection progress?
By the last week of May, Gujarat was the most affected state after Maharashtra. No large cluster was found in Gujarat like the Tabligi Jamaat or Koyabedu.
However, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel held the people of Tabligi Jamaat held in Delhi responsible for spreading corona in Gujarat.
The largest hotspots of corona infection in Gujarat have been Ahmedabad and Surat. Ahmedabad has more than 70 percent of the total infected patients in Gujarat, most of the deaths in Gujarat have also occurred here.
Initially, the areas of Ahmedabad where corona infection spread, that area is also densely populated. However, by the end of the month of May, the corona infection had spread to many more parts of Ahmedabad.
Gaurang Jani, a well-known sociologist from Gujarat, says that in the east east of Ahmedabad, narrow streets are called ‘Amdavad ni Pod’ in Gujarati, where there is no physical distancing, people need to do their daily chores like washing clothes and cleaning teeth Work has to be done outside the house.
In these areas, the police also find difficulties in petrol. During the lockdown there were 11 containment zones in Ahmedabad, out of which 10 were in this area.
However, this is not the case in West Ahmedabad because the population here is not so dense, yet people have been infected here. The first case was registered on 17 March in Ahmadabad and by the end of March 25 cases and three deaths were registered here.
According to a report published by the Observer Foundation, which works on health-related topics, most of the infected have been admitted to civil hospitals in the densely populated areas of Ahmedabad, where lack of facilities, mistreatment by doctors and staff and correct treatment. Complaints of non-availability have been seen.
According to this report, patients in financially better condition are admitted to SVP hospital where better facilities are available.
In addition, if people had access to primary health centers and hospitals nearby, then the treatment of the infected would have been quicker.
Statistics published in this report published on May 13 say that 17.8 percent of the people died on the first day of hospitalization while only 14.9 percent of the people were alive in the hospital for seven to 10 days and 2.5 percent more than ten days.
Was adequate preparation done?
The resentment of health workers in the health system of Gujarat also exposes the preparedness of the government in front of the epidemic.
There were reports of staff strike from several hospitals in the state. Sometimes on salary, sometimes on demand for PPE kit and corona testing.
In May, 27 nurses and seven employees were found corona positive at the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute of Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, after which other staff members created a ruckus for the correct safety equipment.
Apart from this, the nursing staff working on contract in other hospitals of the state went on strike regarding salary.
In March, the corona virus was knocked out in March, but the government’s feud with private hospitals continued till May. Even the Gujarat High Court had to intervene in this matter.
On 16 May, under the Epidemic Disease Control Act 1897, the local administration of Ahmedabad declared 42 private hospitals as Kovid-19 hospitals and ordered to keep 50 percent beds for Kovid-19 patients. However, many private hospitals expressed anger at the different rates fixed for them.
Apart from this, according to the guidelines of ICMR, there was a tussle between the government and private hospitals over the alleged delay in getting testing in private labs and getting approval from the government.
The lockdown was implemented in all states at the center level, but questions also arise about the decisions taken at the local level.
As the transition from the hotspot in Ahmedabad does not go out, the five bridges that were required to be closed were closed in the first week of May.
Gujarat health facilities
According to the National Health Profile in the Gujarat model, as of August 2018, there were 1474 primary health centers in Gujarat, which are less than Bihar included in the ‘sick states’.
There are 1899 primary health centers in Bihar. There are 363 community health care centers and 9,153 sub-centers in Gujarat, there is a primary health center for a population of 30 thousand in rural areas, from where the community center is referred.
The number of beds in a hospital per thousand population in India is less than that in Gujarat.
According to a report by an institution called Brookings in March 2020, Gujarat’s government hospitals have 0.30 beds per 1,000 population, while Rajasthan has 0.60 beds, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha has 0.40 beds, Tamil Nadu has 1.1 beds.
Replying to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey presented data as of March 31, 2018, according to which 29 percent of the doctors’ seats in primary health centers in Gujarat were vacant. At the same time, 90% of the vacancies of specialists such as physicians, pediatricians, gynecologists and surgeons were vacant.
Health educator Ashok Bhargava told, “From the primary health center to the government hospital in Kerala, all work smoothly and do not have to be vigilant at the time of the epidemic. People in villages or cities in Gujarat can visit government hospitals Confidence is scarce. Where there is good work, there is more burden of patients. Government health services have been in disastrous years in Gujarat. “
He says that lack of awareness about the epidemic among people has also increased the difficulties of Gujarat.
What are the difficulties in front of Gujarat?
The Civil Hospital is a major center of the corona epidemic in Gujarat. Taking high cognizance of the Gujarat High Court itself, the government had strongly reprimanded the state of civil hospitals.
Lakshmi Parmar, 67, underwent treatment for Kovid-19 at Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital for 10 days. Three families of Lakshmi, a resident of Behrampura, Ahmedabad, were also corona positive.
She says that after waiting for several hours, she got a bed in the hospital. Breakfast was not available earlier. Then we complained to a leader of influence, then everything went well. Lakshmi says that between 40-50 people there were two toilets and bathrooms.
At the same time, the government was embarrassed when the body of Ganapati Makwana, who was discharged after getting treatment for Kovid-19 from the civil hospital, was found at a bus stand.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who is also the health minister, said that death may have occurred due to low oxygen level.
Ganpat Makwana’s son Kirti has a question that if he was not well, why was he discharged and sent home?
Recently, the body of a Kovid-19 patient was handed over to a family, after the funeral, the hospital told that his family has not died but he is fine.
These news coming from the Civil Hospital have exposed the disturbances there.
Questions about policies
When the situation started getting serious in Ahmedabad in April, they were screened between April 15 and May 5, placing them in the category of super spreaders.
There were 250 corona positive cases. These were the people who used to sell vegetables in different vegetable markets and societies of Ahmedabad. The most dangerous thing was that they were asymptomatic super spreaders.
Shariq Laliwala, an expert in the disciplines of sociology, says that under lockdown, vegetable-fruiters were exempted on the basis of screening, which needed their testing instead.
Apart from this, in Lockdown 4.0, Gujarati migrant laborers working in other cities of Gujarat were also allowed buses to take them back to the village, which also put those areas at risk.
The same happened in Amreli, which had been spared from Corona infection for about two months, also reached Corona with migrant workers who returned from Surat.
By mid-May in Gir Somnath, there were two corona patients who had recovered but buses started moving, after which 40 corona were found infected there.
Shariq Laliwala does not just accept the screening policy, he says that most of the infected people do not have symptoms, then the infection can be detected by testing and not by screening.
In such a situation where the focus of the government is mostly on Ahmedabad and Surat, the situation does not seem to be under control. So how will the government deal with corona infection in areas of far flung areas where many kilometers have to be traveled to reach primary health centers?
What is the government saying?
The correspondent of a news channel spoke to Gujarat Health and Family Welfare Minister Kumar Kanani about the growing case of Unlock-1 and Corona virus infection.
After Unlock-1, Corona cases are increasing in Gujarat. During June 3 and 4, a record 492 cases have been registered in Gujarat in 24 hours. The kind of relaxation being given in Unlock-1 is also being criticized.
Explaining this, Gujarat Health and Family Welfare Minister Kumar Kanani told, “Keeping in mind both the economic condition and the corona, the government has done as best it could. The government had thought about it long back. Along with the government, it is also important for the people to understand that business awareness will have to be conducted with awareness, now the government will support as much as people take care of themselves personally. “
The government is also facing allegations that the testing in Gujarat is very low, even private labs are not allowed to test first.
Regarding this question, Kanani said, “No, this is a wrong thing. The government has done as much testing as it can and is still doing. There is nothing to hide in this. It is true that the lockdown is open. Matters have increased since. “
Patients are increasing after Unlock-1, so what arrangements do we have? On this question, Kumar Kanani says that “plans have already been made. We have never told anyone that you will not admit.”
In Gujarat districts like Gir-Somnath, Surendranagar, Amreli, the cases of Corona were very few or no. Now there are increasing cases of corona due to the movement of people there.
How will it be fought in front of the corona where there is not enough health facility in remote districts? On this question, Kumar Kanani says, “Everything will be organized, there will be no problem. Whatever efforts or decisions the government has taken, it has been taken in time.”
