Local units in Rukum (West) have added over 200 beds and 200 oxygen cylinders at various health facilities for the treatment of Covid-19 patients in the district.

Ishwor Rawal, the corona focal person of the District Health Office in Rukum (West), said the District Hospital has added 59 isolation beds in the last month alone.

“The hospital took initiatives to add more isolation beds after all eight beds at the facility got fully occupied. The hospital has not turned away any Covid-19 patient until now,” said Rawal, adding that up to 50 Covid-19 patients were admitted at the hospital a few days ago.

According to the hospital administration, the flow of Covid-19 patients to the hospital has decreased in the last few days. “However, we have been making further preparations keeping in view a possible surge in Covid-19 cases in the coming days,” said Rawal.

Until a month ago, isolation wards were available at the District Hospital, Chaurjahari Hospital and Aathbiskot Hospital only. According to the data of the District Health Service Office in Rukum (West), Chaurjahari Hospital had 18 isolation beds, Aathbiskot Hospital had 15 beds and the District Hospital had only eight such beds.

But in the past month, various local units in Rukum (West) have ramped up their efforts to fight the pandemic.

Chaurjahari Municipality has set up 45 isolation beds and Sanibheri Rural Municipality 22 beds in the last month.

Similarly, Tribeni Rural Municipality has been operating a 20-bed isolation facility in the rural municipal hospital. Banfikot Rural Municipality has also added a total of 15 isolation beds in Chhinkhet and Syarpu.

“We managed to set up a Covid-19 isolation ward within 15 days. This was made possible because of the preparations we made in the past,” said Gorkha Bahadur KC, mayor of Aathbiskot Municipality.

Local units and the concerned stakeholders in Rukum (West) came together to contain the virus spread in the district following the death of a Covid-19-infected woman while undergoing treatment at the District Hospital in April.

Since then, 205 oxygen cylinders and 31 concentrators along with other medical supplies have been brought to the district, health workers say.

Meanwhile, Chaurjahari Municipality is preparing to set up an oxygen plant at its Covid-19 hospital.

“We have already ordered the necessary equipment for the plant. Works on the oxygen plant will start in Chaurjahari Hospital in a few days,” said Bishal Sharma, mayor of the municipality.

Raj Kumar Sharma, chief at the District Coordination Committee, said the local units in the district are making all necessary preparations to control the spread of the virus and provide treatment to Covid-19 patients.

“We still have problems in oxygen management and supply. If we could solve this problem, we could save more lives,” said Sharma.

On the other hand, Musikot Municipality in the district has rented a 50-bed private hospital and handed it over to the District Hospital for the treatment of general patients. The hospital has been providing regular health services for non-Covid patients.

According to the data of the District Health Service Office, 19 Covid-19 patients have died and 1,107 individuals have tested positive for the coronavirus in Rukum (West) since mid-April. There are still 560 active cases in the district, the record of the District Health Service Office showed.