Covid-19: Hospitals across Tripura  to hold mock drills to tackle any spike

Tripura along with hospitals across the country will be holding mock drills on Tuesday to assess their preparedness to tackle any Covid-19 spike, media reports said.

The mock drills, which will be led by respective state health ministers, will focus on the availability of beds, human resources, logistics and the supply chain of medical oxygen.

All the District Magistrates (DMs)  of the state have been declared as the nodal officers to look after the exercise of mock drills under their respective districts to make sure that readiness in terms of oxygen supports, ICU beds and  infrastructural installations and other life-support measures .

As part of the advisory issued by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Tripura is going to organise a mock drill programme at all the district and sub-divisional level hospitals including in the dedicated Covid hospitals at GB Hospital complex  to  review the  preparedness to combat Covid positive cases on Tuesday.  The mock drill exercise will focus on parameters such as the availability of health care facilities, the capacity of isolation beds,oxygen-supported beds, ICU beds, ventilator-supported beds, the number of beds and the optimal number of doctors including AYUSH doctors availability, nurses, other frontline workers inclusive of  ASHA and Anganwadi workers. It will also focus on human resource capacity strength with special reference to healthcare professionals trained in COVID-19 management, ventilator management protocol for critical cases etc.

While, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya led the drill at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi, the national capital and a union territory, on Tuesday.

Mandaviya on Monday said at a meeting of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) as quoted by NDTV, "Such exercises would help our operational readiness, help in filling gaps if any and will consequently strengthen our public health response."

Several states have already advised people to follow the basic Covid norms like physical distancing and usage of masks, sanitizers.

The earlier spikes in Covid cases, particularly the second wave, had left the country's health infrastructure paralysed, leaving heart-rending scenes of patients struggling to breathe due to lack of medical oxygen and relatives running from pillar to post to find a hospital bed for their loved ones.

#With agency inputs.