Patients in home isolation may get oximeters, other items

The civic body is set to propose to the government for providing Covid care kits, including an oximeter, to asymptomatic patients, who have the necessary facilities for home isolation.

A day after taking over the reins of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), N Manjunatha Prasad said the proposal aims to avoid the shortage of beds.

“For asymptomatic patients, we need to build confidence in them to fight the disease from the comfort of their home as long as they have a separate room and attached toilet. The plan is to provide basic medicine and oximeter,” he said.

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“Alternatively, the BBMP can have tie-ups with hospitals to check on such patients,” Prasad said, adding that the measure helps to see that the beds are not blocked for symptomatic patients who need it.

He said Bengaluru requires a separate expert committee to fight the pandemic.

“The committee will consist of epidemiologists and disease experts known at the national level to advise us on the crucial steps needed to combat the disease,” he said.

To a question on where Bengaluru erred in handling Covid after earning praise as a model city initially, he said: “We went wrong during the ‘unlock period’, especially in the first 15 days when a large number of people arrived in the city from other states. We became complacent thinking that we have a grip on the situation,” he said.

Staffers on full duty

A day after the chief secretary ordered that about 35,000 of the employees from other departments should report to the BBMP, the commissioner said only 35% have reported.

“We are working on the decentralising the fight against Covid, and the additional staff are very much needed. However, only about 30% have reported. Moreover, they are handling the job at the parent department beside the Covid work. I will request to the chief secretary to give them on a full-time basis for three or more months,” he said.

'BBMP is full-time job'

N Manjunatha Prasad, who was BBMP commissioner till August 2019, said he requested the government to relieve him from the Revenue Department, which was assigned to him as additional charge along with its disaster management wing.

Revenue Department and Disaster Management bring heavy workload, especially in the monsoon.

Asked whether the additional charge will affect his work at the BBMP, Prasad said the BBMP was not a part-time job.

Sources said a notification to this effect is expected in two days.