Aasif GanaiePulwama, May 4, KNT: The Government District Hospital in southern Kashmir was on Monday turned into a COVID-19 dedicated hospital, where only critically ill Coronavirus patients are being admitted while the outpatient departments have been shifted to other Sub-District hospitals and other private Nursing Homes.

After the shift of OPDs, the hospital will now exclusively be open for patients who are symptomatic and need medical attention for detection and consequent treatment for COVID-19.

However, the doctors in the hospital say that people can contact them on their phone numbers or through WhatsApp for any other exigency.

“People should know that visiting the hospital is not required for treatment of mild symptoms. We can prescribe them medicines on phone and they need not panic,” a doctor at the hospital told news agency Kashmir News Trust.

As per reliable sources, there were about 120 patients admitted in the hospital among whom three succumbed last night. “One was a young patient while two others were old,” sources, privy to the affairs at the hospital, said.

“The situation is becoming worse with each passing day. Almost six out of every 10 patients are testing positive for the pathogen and many of these patients need oxygen,” sources said.

So far, there have been four reported deaths in the hospital during the latest wave of the pandemic.

Earlier, five doctors also tested positive in the hospital who were removed from their duties to self-isolate at their homes.

Dr. Mir Mushtaq, Deputy Medical Superintendent at DH Pulwama told KNT that people need to follow the Covid-appropriate behavior religiously so that there is a check on the surging wave of COVID-19.

“People should consider venturing out of their homes as a last resort. Otherwise, things can turn very ugly. Besides, every hospital has a stipulated bed capacity and only critical patients are given priority. So, people need to understand the gravity of the situation and act in a sensible manner,” he added.

When asked about the latest outbreak of the pandemic, the senior doctor said that, unlike the previous wave, they are only accepting seriously ill patients this time. “Previously, all COVID-19 infected patients were hospitalized, putting a lot of strain on the healthcare system and overburdening the staff,” he said.

As the non-Covid facilities have been shifted to other hospitals, the hospital has a capacity of 200 beds.

It is pertinent to mention here that J&K reported a record 3733 fresh positive cases of novel Coronavirus with 51 persons succumbing to the virus in the last 24 hours on Monday, as per the government’s latest daily figure.

Among the 3733 new cases, official sources said that 2439 were from Kashmir Valley (296 from Pulwama district and 663 from south Kashmir), taking the total case tally to 18,7219. (KNT)