Hyderabad: Renowned health specialist and Chairman of CII’s healthcare council, Dr. Naresh Trehan said that the issue of private sector's involvement in containing the spread of novel coronvirus has been discussed extensively within the industry and private hospitals are ready to shoulder the responsibility. In an exclusive interaction with ETV Bharat, Dr. Naresh Trehan, CMD of Medanta – the Medicity, said the government should set a strict criteria and fix the fees for screening by certified private labs like it did at the time of outbreak of Swine Flu. He said private sector is ready to screen corona patients even if it costs money as the objective is to win the battle.
ETV Bharat: It has not yet spread to the community level, what is your sense, are we able to contain it?
Dr. Naresh Trehan: One thing is that we are not yet 100% sure that whether it has reached to the community level or no. This is our biggest fear. This thing has to be seen. So the government in its wisdom yesterday started the community level testing, like dipstick random checking. That will give us some idea. If you have done enough tests in the community then we will know whether it is spreading or not.
That will be the greatest news if we find out that it has been contained and it is not spreading. Because once it starts spreading then spreads very fast and is very difficult to control.
So, one, the answer to it is that we don't know. Second, we shall know very soon.
Next two-to-three weeks are very critical. We all need to be alert and be able to contain ourselves, our neighbours, our family. And to protect all, we should be responsible for reporting any person who has come from overseas, the persons whom he has been in contact with. And also anybody else who has cough, cold or fever. It may be just another flu, just a normal flu, but they should isolate themselves right away for two weeks.
ETV Bharat: Private sector has not yet been allowed to screen Corona patients. What do you recommend, the government should permit them and fix a rate?
Dr. Naresh Trehan: There is a sequential step that has to be taken, the first step was to screen those who have been overseas. Second is to screen their contacts are to be screened. And now they are saying dipstick community level testing. And if you find that there is a large number of people to whom it is spreading then we need to test many-many more people.
The government should allow certified, well-established labs to participate in the screening, with very strict criteria that who can be screened, it should not be like that anybody with money can walk in and say let me do it. So there should be a strict criteria and they should also establish a rate, a maximum rate that they can charge, like they did in Swine Flu. We all participated in Swine Flu.
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We were told that the amount of money was almost the cost of the kit. And it was okay that we should not be making any money. If we lost some money, it's all right because it's basically to protect our own environment and national environment. So I think it's national service to participate and we are going to participate even if it costs us some money rather than charging money.
ETV Bharat: What are the lessons that we can learn from countries like China and Korea who were successful in containing the virus after some time.
