In a major concern, J&K is witnessing a rise in the number of COVID19 deaths out of hospitals. The trend, doctors say, reflects poor monitoring of the health status of cases under home isolation as well as continued complacency in community.
From May 01 to May 10, 46 COVID19 positive people in J&K died even before they could be admitted to hospitals, official data on the pandemic released by J&K Government reveals. These patients were either brought dead to hospitals or died at home. 500 deaths have taken place in the UT in the past 10 days.
A senior specialist said the fact that a significant number of COVID19 patients have lost lives without even getting the basic medical care showed laxity on part of the authorities. “We have thousands of COVID19 patients isolated at home at the moment due to the newly instituted admission policy. However, we need to ensure that their health status is continuously monitored and they are not left on their own,” he said.
In J&K, a team is deputed in every area to update and advise COVID19 cases, in addition to apprise them of symptoms that warrant a visit to hospital. “A major reason for deaths,” he said “was the rapid deterioration of symptoms while not having access to immediate medical attention.” He expressed concern over “poor surveillance by health care teams and networks assigned with follow up of positive cases in home isolation.”
In addition, he said that community transmission was widespread, and many people would get infected and not get tested, especially if asymptomatic. “They may not be aware and can have drastic reduction of oxygen saturation due to extensive lung involvement without any apparent symptoms, called as ‘happy hypoxia’. These people may land late in hospitals in very critical condition,” he said.
Many medics that the Greater Kashmir spoke to differed and said people’s complacency and attitude was also responsible for these deaths. “People still tend to hide the symptoms and many do not seek medical help and hospitalization when sick,” a health care provider working in GMC Anantnag said. He said many of these deaths are those who are brought dead to hospital and then test positive. “Even after lakhs of cases, many of us still shy away from getting tested,” he said.
Currently, there are nearly 50,000 active cases in J&K, out of which only 3100 are admitted. The remaining 47,000 cases are under home isolation. A physician working at SMHS Hospital said that while most of these cases are asymptomatic, a significant number now is on medication and oxygen support at home. “The warning signs need to be communicated well to the families even if a patient is recuperating at home. How can we let someone deteriorate so much without giving him admission to the hospital?” he said.
Recently, J&K Government announced that a pulse oximeter will be provided to positive cases in J&K. The oximeter, it said, would help in monitoring the saturation of sick patients and help in easy identification of an anomaly that requires medical attention.