While Lucknow is recording a high number of COVID tallies each day, the primary concern here is that the pandemic threat is now plaguing the health staff also. More than 30% of the health workers have tested positive for the COVID infection in the city, consequently, adding to the active tallies while reducing the number of working staff. This has adversely affected treatment services at various hospitals across Lucknow.
Medical staff test positive in Lucknow
While Lucknow is reportedly nursing the highest active COVID cases across the state, troubles have now escalated for the state capital, as medical staff have also started to test positive. These include doctors, nurses, technicians, ward boys and administrative officials at major COVID hospitals.
A senior doctor at King George’s Medical University, where 40 doctors had tested positive in a day, said, “The disease is so infectious that every time a team goes on a 14-day COVID duty, nearly one-fourth of them return with the infection.” He said that while many of them are under home isolation, those with comorbidities have been admitted to the hospital.
The situation is no different at Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, where at least 600 out of 2,000 staff members are COVID-positive. “Around 30 per cent of the staff is infected. The non-Covid team are also getting infected while identifying Covid patients,” said RMLIMS spokesperson Dr Shrikesh Singh. He further said, “We have almost completely vaccinated our staff and are asking them to use protective gear while working.” Meanwhile, the Balrampur Hospital has also traced 24 detections among health staff within the last 72 hours.
‘WhatsApp prescriptions’ ailing COVID treatment
While frontline doctors are testing positive for coronavirus, people have turned to ‘WhatsApp prescriptions’ that are causing more harm than help. These are forwarded messages regarding home remedies and concoctions that claim to kill the virus completely but without any scientific verification.
Rumours, wrong prescriptions, incorrect dosages and several other issues are now lining up at the clinics along with COVID-19 infections and self-treatment, via ‘WhatsApp University’. This is emerging as a major problem in treating COVID patients, Dr Rajiv Kumar, a senior physician at a government hospital testified.
“Patients come to us when they have tried all medicines- from paracetamol to ivermectin- in quantities that are certainly not required. We have patients who are taking steam inhalation five to six times a day because someone on WhatsApp told them that it kills Coronavirus. This excess steam inhalation is drying up mucus in the nasal and throat path. Besides, steam is not recommended as a treatment for the coronavirus by either the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the World Health Organization (WHO),” he further informed.
Along with him, several doctors have now appealed to the people to not mindlessly follow or forward these messages. Instead, follow the listed procedure- get tested, isolate and refer to a medical expert before taking any medicine for COVID or other disease treatment.
– with inputs from IANS
