Tirupati: As patients opt home isolation, Covid beds become vacant

Tirupati: The improved Covid recovery rate and increasing preference for home isolation have made about 5,000 beds available in various hospitals and Covid care centres in Chittoor district. Till now, 90 per cent of patients have recovered and discharged in the district, while the total number of cases stands at 72,313 by Monday morning. After 65,555 patients got discharged and about 710 deaths, there are only 6,048 active cases now.

The trends in daily cases reveal that the number of virus infected persons is coming down gradually with an average of 700 cases being reported. There are a few days which have witnessed less than 400 cases too. While the district continues to be on top in Covid deaths, the toll has also been coming down from average 10 deaths to five deaths now.

According to Dr G D S Srinivas, district programme management officer of National Health Mission, the number of patients who opted home isolations was almost on par with those admitted in hospitals. While 20,446 patients have been admitted to various Covid hospitals so far, 1,602 active cases are there among them, 20,328 were under home isolation with 3,111 active cases now.

With Covid admissions having come down, about 500 beds are available in Ruia hospital as on Sunday (October 11) while Padmavati state Covid hospital has another 155 vacant beds. A total of 1,679 beds are available in various government and private hospitals in the district by October 11.

With increasing home isolations, the number of admissions in Covid care centres (CCCs) were also coming down though most number of patients have been admitted and cured there only till now. Out of 31,539 patients took admission in CCCs, presently only 1335 active cases are there.

Among CCCs. many patients are still preferring Sri Padmavathi Nilayam which has 725 active cases currently out of 876 beds available. The total number of admissions in the facility crossed 11,500 mark and it was the only centre with less number of beds available even now.

Srinivasam CCC with 1,670 beds has only 247 active cases while the active cases in Vishnu Nivasam are 278 out of 1,070 beds. Madhavam has 423 vacant beds out of 500 while Govindaraja choultries has only 8 active cases leaving 366 beds vacant. On the whole, 3,166 beds are available at five CCCs in Tirupati.

Keeping in view the available beds in various CCCs the district authorities have to consider closing down some centres temporarily by allotting the patients to the remaining centres to save human and other resources. When more than 1,000 beds are available in Srinivasam and hundreds of beds in other CCCs and the choice for home isolation and private hospitals is increasing, it is time for the officials to take decisions accordingly.