As part of a nationwide mock drill on April 10 and 11 to check on the preparedness of health care facilities in the event of a spike in Covid infections, health authorities in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad will conduct a trial run and assessment of resources. Nodal officers have been appointed for each district to conduct the exercise. Dr Bhagwan Pawar, chief medical officer, of Pune Municipal Corporation told The Indian Express that Pune has seen a rise in weekly covid positivity rates, which is currently at 14 per cent. "The situation is stable and we are keeping a strict watch on the hospital admissions and patients in home isolation," Dr Pawar said. "As part of the mock drill, we will collect data on the infrastructure and other logistics at private and public health care facilities including the availability of oxygen," Dr Pawar added. According to the district health department data, there were a total of 39 patients who were hospitalized of which four needed ventilation in the Intensive Care Unit and seven required oxygen support. As per data till April 8, there were 691 persons in home isolation. Around 90 new Covid infections were detected on a single day with 67 in the Pune Municipal Corporation area, according to district health department officials. Dr Pawar said that overall the symptoms are mild and there is also a rise in the number of patients who have recovered. For instance, on April 8 as against 90 new Covid infections in the district, there were 148 who had recovered. Overall since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, Pune has reported more than 15 lakh people who have been infected with the SARS-CoV2 virus while 19759 have succumbed to the disease. Across Maharashtra, there are a total of 4587 active cases of Covid infection. Health officials have also cautioned frontline and healthcare workers to exercise caution while treating patients with suspected Covid in the outpatient department. Dr Amit Dravid, an infectious diseases expert at Noble Hospital said that they had reserved a 50 bed ward but so far there are few admissions. Of the two ICU admissions one 80 year old man who had twin infections of H3N2 and Covid succumbed to the disease.
