Assam has officially entered the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus is mutating and becoming stronger, taking hundreds of lives across the country every day. With the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Assam, apprehensions have also been raised on the availability of hospital beds and supply of oxygen in the hospitals.
EastMojo spoke to Abhijit Sarma, Superintendent, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) to get a clearer picture of the facilities available to tackle the second wave of COVID-19 in the state.
While talking about GMCH’s availability of oxygen cylinders for COVID-19 patients, the doctor said that the hospital is currently equipped with 2 Oxygen Tanks – 20 metric tonnes each, 200 Oxygen Concentrators, 2 Oxygen Generators and 300 to 400 oxygen cylinders. He also mentioned that GMCH is providing 700-800 vaccine shots every day since January 16, 2020.
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Meanwhile, a change in nature of COVID-19 patients hit by the second wave has also been observed. Most of those affected by the virus are young, and most of them are asymptomatic.
Speaking about the availability of beds, the superintendent said that there are 60-70 beds available at any point in a day. He also added that the number of admitted patients is very low.
To conduct a smooth vaccination process for those above the age of 18 from May 1, additional counters have been installed to provide more vaccination jabs.
“19,000 vaccination shots have been provided by GMCH from January 16 to April 21 this year,” Sarma added. He also urged people to come forward to take their vaccination shots without any hesitation.
As of 22 April 2021, there were 780 active Covid-19 patients in GMCH, Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) and Kalapahar Covid Care Hospital.
