Surat (Gujarat): Coronavirus pandemic spread like wildfire in Surat by the end of March. With the spread of the mutant strain, many families tested corona positive. The situation had become so bad that there was no bed available to treat corona patients in government as well as private hospitals. Several philanthropic organisations and charitable trusts came forward to start community isolation centres in which patients were given free medicine, Oxygen and food.
Thanks to these 30 odd covid community isolation centres, a major catastrophe was averted. Forest department officer Dinesh Rabari was appointed by the government as the nodal officer of these isolation centres.
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Because of efficient management, all the covid community isolation centres in Surat have stood out as an ideal for the entire country. Nodal officer Dinesh Rabari told ETV Bharat that during the peak period, as many as 950 of the total 1500 beds in these centres were fully occupied. Today, 954 beds with air and 543 Oxygen beds are vacant. Of the 30 centres, 20 have Oxygen beds. There have been zero deaths and 100 percent recovery was achieved in these isolation centres.
Each and every patient was given proper treatment and in case of the health condition of any patient deteriorated, they were shifted to the government hospital. There are at present only 188 patients in the centres, and around 3000 patients have been discharged following complete recovery. He said at present 47 Oxygen beds are occupied while the rest are available. The supply of Oxygen to every centre is monitored by forest department officials.
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At present, there are 525 patients receiving treatment. Of them, 380 are from Surat and 145 patients are from outside Surat. Patients from the Saurashtra region as well as migrants from other states too have received treatment in these centres. Patients who have received treatment and have fully recovered in these centres also included those from Uttarakhand, Kolkata, Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
Nodal officer Dinesh Rabari said in some of the centres, audiovisual screens were also set up on which religious and other programmes were shown to give a positive feeling to the patients. In some centres, yoga sessions were held and books were made available.
Those who recovered from coronavirus included both the elderly persons as well as the young.
