IMPORTANT: Centre demarcates treatment management for Covid suspects and confirmed cases

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has published a guideline in order to help people break the chain of transmissions by keeping those have tested positive and those who are suspected of the virus separate. The Ministry hopes to make maximum use of the available facilities for those who have a heavy viral load.

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Government issues guidelines

The government has thus divided the facilities into three - COVID Care centre, Dedicated COVID Health Care and Dedicated COVID Hospital. 

COVID Care Centers shall offer care only for cases that have been clinically assigned as mild or very mild cases or COVID suspect cases and are makeshift facilities. These may be set up in hostels, hotels, schools, stadiums, lodges etc., both public and private. 

Dedicated COVID Health Centres are hospitals that shall offer care for all cases that have been clinically assigned as moderate. These should either be a full hospital or a separate block in a hospital with preferably separate entry\exit/zoning. These hospitals must have separate areas for suspect and confirmed case, and suspect and confirmed cases must not be allowed to mix under any circumstances

Dedicated COVID Hospitals are hospitals that shall offer comprehensive care primarily for those who have been clinically assigned as severe. Dedicated COVID Hospitals should either be a full hospital or a separate block in a hospital with preferably separate entry\exit. 

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The category of cases can be decided as confirmed and clinically mild, confirmed cases clinically assigned as moderate and confirmed cases clinically assigned as severe.

It is critical for hospitals to follow these guidelines because more than 40 doctors and health care workers have tested positive in Delhi and Mumbai, leading to the Delhi State Cancer Institute in the capital and Wockhardt Hospital in Mumbai being sealed and have been declared as 'containment zones.' 

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