18 hospitals in Pune district to get oxygen connections

Eighteen government hospitals in Pune district will get oxygen pipeline connections so that they can treat coronavirus patients, a senior official said on Tuesday.

District collector Naval Kishore Ram said five sub-district and 13 rural hospitals in the Pune district will be given oxygen pipeline connections within 15 days.

"It is a special plan for managing COVID-19 patients in the rural areas during the monsoon so that the patients need not to be taken to the city," he said.

He also said that 420 doctors including BAMS graduates have been appointed as "community health officers" in rural parts of the district.

Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said the district and civic administration have decided to set up special checking camps for senior citizens in the Pune city who have comorbid conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, lungs and kidney-related ailments.

As part of pre-emptive measures to deal with a possible surge in coronavirus cases in June or July, the district and civic administration is ramping up medical facilities and number of hospital beds in the city, he said.

"2,300 ambulances will be kept on stand-by in the city," he added.

"Though the number of cases in the district as of Tuesday is 6,303, 3,195 patients (51 per cent) have been sent back home after they recovered and currently there are 2,819 active cases in hospitals," he added.