Firefighting Covid crises :Govt to augment health infra with 700 ventilators in 10 days

After facing the sharp criticism from different quarters for not adding ventilators which are increasingly being required in hospitals in wake of spike in COVID 19 positive cases, the Government has started the process of strengthening the COVID fighting infra with 700 ventilators in ten days.

A top source in the health department said 150 ventilators have already arrived in Kashmir.

Source added that these ventilators would be distributed among all the hospitals of Kashmir so that patients who require ventilators are treated there only and unnecessary referrals to Srinagar hospitals are avoided.

Sources also revealed that sufficient stock of Remdesivir is arriving in Kashmir in the next two days.

The health department has decided to provide the drug to hospitals according to the admission of critical patients.

Remdesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication administered via injection into a vein. It is being tested as a treatment for COVID 19 and has been authorized for emergency use in the US, India Singapore, and approved for use in Japan, the EU, and Australia for people with severe symptoms.

In the absence of any particular drug available for the treatment of COVID 19 patients, the doctors found Remdesivir helpful in shortening the time of recovery from Infection.

According to the figures  Kashmir has only 19 high-end ventilators, while Jammu has 59 respiratory machines. Kashmir has around 23 portable ventilators, while Jammu has 18.