RAIPUR: Eighty per cent of the total oxygen produced in Chhattisgarh will be supplied for medical purposes tohospitals in the state in view of a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases, a government official said on Sunday. The state health department on Sunday issued a notification in this regard under the Epidemic Diseases Act on the directives of chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. As per the notification, manufacturers have been directed to supply 80 per cent of the total oxygen produced in their units to hospitals as ‘medical oxygen’.

In case of an urgent requirement, the remaining 20 per cent of the oxygen produced will also be supplied to hospitals, the public relations official said. Manufacturers have also been asked to ensure uninterrupted production of oxygen in their units with their full capacity, he said. Divisional commissioners and collectors have been asked to ensure proper implementation of the order, he added. On Saturday, Chhattisgarh recorded 14,098 new cases of coronavirus, the highest single-day spike since the outbreak of the infection in March last year, according to the state health department.

Covid-19 situation is turning grimmer day-by-day. 547 deaths have been reported in just past 10 days. On Saturday evening around 65 covid dead bodies in Raipur were cremated after sunset. Out of 14, 098 cases on Saturday, Raipur and Durg reported 3,797 and 2,272 cases. With 97 covid deaths on same day death toll has increased to 4,777 in Chhattisgarh. The state has so far reported a total of 4,32,776 Covid-19 cases. As of now, there are 85,860 active Covid-19 cases in the state, while 3,42,139 patients have recovered, as per official figures.

Chhattisgarh’s positivity rate is reported to be highest in the country, which has climbed to 28% from 20% after spurt in Covid cases. As per data issued by Union Ministry of Health, Maharashtra is on top most position with 48.57% of total active cases in the country and its positivity rate has declined to 25.18% from 30%. Around 10,000 RT-PCR samples tests are reportedly pending in microbiology labs across state.

“Despite ramping up testing, laboratories across the state have a backlog of five days in processing the reports. Now, people are mostly opting for RT-PCR over antigen testing, which is one of the causes of delay in reporting. The testing in state has increased to 50,000 samples being conducted in nine laboratories,” said a state health official.

The dead bodies of Covid patients continue to pile up at cremation grounds and burial grounds in Raipur. “Around55 deaths are being reported every day out of which most of are of Covid patients. The process of documentation for Covid dead bodies also takes time. Many dead bodies are left unclaimed in government centres and Covid-dedicated hospitals which is causing delay in their disposal,” said Raipur Municipal Corporation Official Pulak Bhattacharya. State health officials, however, are predicting a dip in Covid peak by end of April month.

Meanwhile, Ambedkar hospital’s department of community medicine’s HOD Dr Nirmal Verma said, “Lockdown will break the chain of infection if followed sincerely and the Covid related protocols has to be imbibed by all to avoid its spread at social level.

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