Follow COVID-appropriate behaviour: GMCH Principal

Amid a steady rise in COVID cases in Assam, particularly in Kamrup Metro (Guwahati), sentinelassam.com spoke exclusively to Dr Achyut Ch Baishya, Principal and Chief Superintendent of Guwahati Medical College and Hospital to get a first-hand update on how alarming the situation is and how prepared the health machinery of the state is to handle any COVID situation. Here are excerpts of the interview.

Q: The Sentinel: Assam's main festival Bihu is just few days away and we have this COVID scare. How alarming is the situation?

Dr Achyut Baishya: COVID is a highly infectious virus. We have been getting reports from all the districts that the virus is still not dead or gone. We are still getting reports of cases, we have been getting cases throughout, sometimes less, sometimes more. But the maximum number of cases has been reported from Guwahati. This has happened because people are coming in via train or airways. Therefore, the number of cases being reported from Guwahati is relatively higher.

I am not asking people to panic or get panic stricken but each one of us definitely has to remain careful and cautious. We have to observe COVID appropriate behaviour, wear the mask, maintain social distance and maintain hand hygiene. I request everyone keep themselves as well as their families safe from the virus.

The situation is not grim but the trend that we are witnessing, since April 1 it has been gradually rising. First it was 90 then it went up to 92. In the last 3 days, from 195 cases it rose to 245 on Thursday and then to 281 on Friday throughout Assam. Similarly, if we take the situation of Guwahati, it has gone up from 104 to 128 and yesterday Guwahati recorded 153 cases.

The positivity rate is rising. 25,000 tests and the positivity rate is a little over 1%. I would like to point out here that during January and February the positivity rate had dipped to 0.01%. We have been doing 1200-1300 tests regularly. We had recorded just one case out of these 1200-1300 tests done.

Yes, the spread of the infection has increased over the past few days. But what we had seen in June, July, August, September last year, we saw our peak in September last year with over 71,000 cases. Guwahati recorded 2500-3000 cases then. Now 1.31 lakh cases have been reported across India but we are still at below 300. But we cannot let our guards down.

Nobody can stop us from celebrating Bihu but we have to take care of our health and the health of our family members as we celebrate Bihu. We have to celebrate Bihu while following all COVID protocol. The SOPs are scientifically framed. We have to maintain the right balance between celebrations and healthcare.

Q: The Sentinel: The symptoms are said to be different and more deadly.

Dr Achyut Baishya: Of the 153 cases in Guwahati, 12 are in MMC and only 13 are in the ICU. Rest are all in the general wards. The scary scenes which we saw last year, ambulance after ambulance bringing in patients has not happened yet. The patients have been infected but it has not turned into a disease. We are now focusing on Test, Track and Treat. We are just not treating the patients who are coming in. Our entire thrust is on testing, contact tracing and treating. Asymptomatic patients would be treated differently and those with symptoms would get a different set of treatment.

We have enough stock of COVID vaccines, oxygen (we have liquid oxygen), hospital beds, ICU beds. The health infrastructure deficit that we saw last time is absolutely not there in Assam.

Our doctors are now vaccinated so they are in a better position and more confident to treat the COVID patients coming in. Assam's health machinery is much better prepared this time to tackle any COVID situation in the coming days.

Q: The Sentinel: What are some of the symptoms that people need to look out for?

Dr Achyut Baishya: People need to monitor their oxygen saturation levels. We prescribe vitamins like B Complex, Vitamin C, Zinc and Azithromycin or Doxycycline. Cough, respiratory distress and has comorbid conditions like a person is diabetic or has heart conditions then they have to go to the hospital because their treatment cannot be done at home. For people without comorbidities, they can stay in home isolation and can get cured.

In the first wave of COVID, we had patients complaining about diarrhoea, cough and cold, body ache. This time too people have complained about these but so far we have not seen the severity of oxygen dipping and a person struggling to breathe or oxygen levels dipping sharply.

Q: The Sentinel: This time we are seeing the younger people being infected more.

Dr Achyut Baishya: What has happened is that since the COVID restrictions last time, most of the younger people like students were mostly indoors. It is only now that they have stepped out. It is something like getting naturally infected. So long they were in a protected environment. Schools, malls, restaurants, gyms re-opened, therefore, we are witnessing the shift in age group of those getting infected.

Q: The Sentinel: Is there now a thinking to vaccinate people in the age group of 18 to 45 years?

Dr Achyut Baishya: This is for the Central Government to decide and issue guidelines regarding this. The Indian Medical Association has said that this is necessary. The 18-45 years of age group is the most productive and mobile group and it is this group that has been affected the most this time. As and when we get the directive from the government, we will start the vaccination for people in this age group.

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