30% of COVID positive patients under home isolation can't buy oximeters

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Around 30% of the COVID-19-positive patients under home isolation in the Greater Guwahati areas don't have pulse oximeters due to their financial inability to purchase the gadget.

Such important gadgets to monitor the oxygen-saturation level are yet to reach these patients even after the State Health department's announcement to distribute pulse oximeters free of cost among all those in home isolation. Sources said that the Health department's plan for free distribution of oximeters has not yet started widely.

Dr Gayatri Gogoi, Assistant Professor of Pathology Department at the Assam Medical College & Hospital, Dibrugarh — who is closely associated with execution of the COVID-monitoring project of Assam Police in support with community 'NGO Pratishruti Trust' — told The Sentinel that non-availability of pulse oximeters among 30% virus-infected persons is a matter of serious concern as oxygen saturation often pushes patients into a critical phase. She further said that since these patients don't have money to purchase oximeters, Pratishruti Trust has already distributed 20 oximeters free-of-cost among the COVID patients. "We are appealing to the Assam Police to donate oximeters among COVID-19 patients. A single oximeter can be used by many patients after proper sanitization of the gadget. Scarcity of oximeter is also prevalent among COVID- positive pregnant women and those doing breast feeding for their newborns. Since these women cannot be sent to the COVID Care Centres or hospitals to measure their oxygen saturation, we are trying to help them by providing them free oximeters," said Dr Gogoi.

The COVID-monitoring project of Assam Police has already reached out to more than 30, 000 people in Guwahati. The project involves a triple-layer strategy. In the first layer of the project, the volunteers get in touch with the home isolation patients to extend psychological, tele-medicinal and logistic support.

The second layer is remote-monitoring of the patients by a special geo-fencing android app. The third one is law-enforcement and doorstep-visits by the officers in-charge of the police stations.

Even though the Health department is worried that around 40% critical COVID patients currently in government hospitals in the State were initially under home isolation, Dr Gogoi said that home isolation cases in Guwahati are strictly being monitored by a pool of volunteers, Healthcare workers and doctors. "There is no major home isolation case in Guwahati that turned critical recently," added Dr Gogoi.

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