Health min issues rules for safe ENT practice

Health min issues rules for safe ENT practice

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:04.06.2020

The health ministry on Wednesday issued guidelines for safe ENT practice amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The guidelines are aimed at minimising the spread of Covid-19 infection among ENT doctors, nursing staff, support staff, patients and their attendants.

According to the guidelines, all patients entering the ENT OPD shall be thermal screened.

The ministry said that Covid-19 positive patients are to be operated only for emergency indications in designated operation theatres for Covid-19 patients.

Patients having symptoms suggestive of Covid-19 pertaining to both ENT symptoms or respiratory symptoms, should be seen in a separate Covid-19 screening clinic and not in the ENT OPD, it said.

The ministry also recommended teleconsultation as a preferable option. “Avoid performing endoscopy (nasal endoscopy, 90 rigid or flexible endoscopy for larynx) in routine OPD,” it said, adding even if this has to be performed, it should preferably be performed in a separate demarcated area with Level II PPE kit i.e. Cover-all gown, N-95 mask, gloves and goggles.

The ministry said that the Covid-19 suspect patients should be treated in a separate ward , and should be shifted to ENT ward only after confirmation of Covid negative status while it must be ensured that suspected and confirmed Covid patients are kept separately.

Number of recoveries crosses 1 lakh

New Delhi:Even as new cases of Covid-19 are increasing rapidly, on the brighter side, the number of recovered people crossed the 1 lakh-mark on Wednesday to touch 1,00,303 or 48.31% of those infected by the Sars-Cov-2 virus. The number of Covid-19 cases in India rose to 2,07,615 with yet another biggest single-day spike as 8,909 fresh cases and 217 deaths were recorded by the health ministry on Wednesday. The death toll has gone up to 5,815. There were1,01,497 active Covid-19 cases in the country, the ministry said.

“We are expecting cases to increase because restrictions are gradually being lifted. While containment exercise will continue, it is a relief that recovery rate is improving fast and deaths are limited. Our focus is to keep death rate as low as possible. Increasing number of recoveries shows that our strategy of early detection and clinical management are right,” a health ministry official said.

According to ministry data, Maharashtra has reported 72,300 cases so far, followed by Tamil Nadu with 24,586 cases and Delhi with 22,132. Of the 5,815 deaths across the country, Maharashtra accounted for the highest number at 2,465, followed by Gujarat