As coronavirus cases spike, Indore's health infrastructure gets stretched

A surge in coronavirus cases in

Indore, Madhya Pradesh's commercial hub and the district worst hit by the outbreak, has impacted its health infrastructure, leading to kin of patients uploading videos and messages on social media about shortage of beds and key medicines like Remdesivir.

Indore, with a population of 35 lakh, witnessed a record spike of 919 cases in the last 24 hours, with the positivity rate (number of detections per 100 tests) climbing to 14.5 per cent.

The district's caseload is 78,511, including 999 deaths.

Indore District Medical and Health Officer Dr BS Satya on Sunday said patient influx into local hospitals was very high, adding that 70 per cent of the 6,800 beds earmarked for the outbreak were occupied.

He said Remdesivir consignments were coming in at present and their distribution was taking place as per guidelines, though he admitted that supply was a problem, which should hopefully end soon.

"Doctors have been told to give Remdesivir injections only to those who absolutely need it," Satya said.

Sources said getting beds in reputed private hospitals was becoming tough as the spike gets more severe with every passing day.

Officials claimed the problem was getting magnified as people from other districts were also coming to Indore for treatment.