With India battling the second wave of Covid-19, the severity of the pandemic is evident in Chhattisgarh too. The state is fighting with all its might to contain the rapid surge in coronavirus cases and is hopeful that it will recover from the pandemic soon, riding on the strong intentions and public welfare decisions of the state government.
So far, about 7.44 lakh people have been infected in the state, out of which 6.14 lakh have recovered. Currently, there are 1.3 lakh active cases, while the rate of recovery in the state is 82.5 percent, which is much higher than many big states.
In Chhattisgarh, a total of 8,810 people have died due to Covid so far, which is 1.18 percent. States with higher mortality include Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Delhi, West Bengal, Goa, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
The Chhattisgarh government has focused on testing, tracing and vaccination as its main weapons in the fight against Covid-19. Daily testing in the state is 2,069 per million, better than the average of many larger states. In view of the surge, the number of tests has been increased to 59,000 per day. On the other hand, an average of 7 persons are being traced and tested per Covid-positive person.
A total of 56.22 lakh doses of the Covid vaccines have been administered in Chhattisgarh so far, which amounts to 19.6 percent of the population. Currently, an average of 2.13 lakh people is being vaccinated daily in the state. In Indian states with a population of more than one million, Chhattisgarh is second only to Kerala in terms of the Covid vaccinations. Chhattisgarh also ranks fourth in immunization for the age group of 45+ years. Apart from this, Chhattisgarh has the sixth best performance in the vaccination of frontline workers. Free vaccination will be provided to 1.34 crore people in the age group of 18-44 in the state. The state government has demanded 25–25 lakh doses of Covaxin and Covishield for this. In the absence of vaccines as per demand, the state government has taken the initiative to give the highest priority to socially and economically weaker sections.
Committed to deal with Covid, the Chhattisgarh government put all its efforts in developing resources in a short span of time. 37 dedicated Covid hospitals and 154 Covid Care Centres including 6 medical colleges and AIIMS Raipur have been constructed. A dedicated Covid hospital has been set up in every district. A website has also been created to provide information about vacant beds in these hospitals.
According to information received, the number of common beds in Raipur district is 988, out of which 767 beds are vacant. Likewise, the number of oxygen beds in Raipur district is 2170, and 1150 of these are vacant. 333 out of 584 HDU beds and 374 out of 1024 ICU beds are also vacant, while 131 out of 346 ventilator beds are available.
To increase the number of oxygenated beds, 15 new oxygen generation plants have been set up in Chhattisgarh. Oxygen cylinders and doorstep delivery of oxygen concentrators are also being provided to Covid patients isolating at home. The state has also provided assistance in oxygen supply to other states at this time of crisis.
All this has been possible only due to the strong will power of the state government. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has also demanded on-site registration for vaccination from the Prime Minister so that no one is deprived of it, reflecting his emphasis on social justice. Despite being a small state with resource constraints and rapidly increasing Covid cases, Chhattisgarh is managing the availability of oxygen, provision of beds in hospitals, testing, and building of healthcare facilities for Covid treatment of Covid very efficiently, demonstrating the proficiency of the state’s political leadership and administration.