Hyderabad: OMC medicos put on Covid radar after positive cases

Hyderabad: Doctors, working in various State hospitals, who have defied coronavirus for almost three months after first positive case was detected in Telangana on March 2, are slowly getting impacted by the deadly virus. Three more PG medicos(Microbiology, Dermatology and General Surgery departments) from Osmania Medical College, Koti were found to be infected with Covid-19 taking the total count to seven in just three days.

These developments for the last few days even as the final year PGs are set to write their final exams from June 20 has made the Health department to swing into action. A meeting was held in Osmania Medical College after which it was decided to do sample testing to PG medicos and UG interns staying in gents and ladies hostels. The infected junior doctors were OMC hostel inmates and hence decision was taken to do sample testing on others, symptomatic and also asymptomatic ones. Nearly 100 male medicos and 180 female medicos will be under the scanner now for virus symptoms.

Elaborating details, OMC principal Dr Shashikala Reddy said that PGs and interns from gents hostel were tested on Monday. In the next two days, PGs and interns from ladies hostel will be subjected to undergo sample testing.

Dr Shasikala said that infected medicos had only mild symptoms like fever or cold or cough and no one had breathing problem. Those tested postive will have to be admitted in Gandhi Hospital while those testing negative will be referred to home quarantine, she said.

Meanwhile, junior doctors expressed concerns as they are in the firing line after resuming of OP and other services in hospitals and lockdown relaxations which increased footfall of patients in State hospitals. As part of clinical postings in hospitals, doctors will be discharging duties in various State hospitals and are getting exposed to all kind of patients; Covid postive, symptomatic and asymptomatic and they are likely to get infected more in the coming days.

Telangana Junior Doctors Association president Kadali Uma Nagendra Vishnu urged the Health department to do random swab testing for medicos, especially for those working in emergency and isolation wards. He stated that PG medicos are apprehensive to return to their homes after attending hospital duties over infection risks to family members and hence authorities should try to provide accommodation to them in hostels or hotels.