Covid Cases In India: Amid Rising Infections, AIIMS Delhi Issues Testing, Treatment Guidelines

Under the COVID-19 testing policy, patients exhibiting Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) symptoms will undergo testing.

With Covid cases rising again in India, people have started wearing masks again, but crowded places are still a concern. (Representative image)

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The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has issued a set of guidelines amid the rising cases of COVID-19 across the nation. AIIMS Delhi director M Srinivas on Wednesday held a meeting with the department heads to discuss contingency measures for COVID-19. Among the topics discussed at the meeting were testing policies and the allocation of designated areas for the hospitalisation of Covid patients, according to news agency ANI.

The guidelines came on a day when the first case of JN.1 variant was detected in Delhi. 

Under the COVID-19 testing policy, patients exhibiting Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) symptoms will undergo testing. The WHO has defined acute respiratory infection, persistent fever (≥ 38°C), and cough within the last 10 days as SARI symptoms. 

An office memorandum issued after the meeting instructed all departments to prepare for dedicated wards to accommodate patients testing positive for COVID-19.

"Twelve beds in the C6 ward will be earmarked for hospitalization of seriously ill COVID-19 patients," the memorandum read. Additionally, an Outpatient Department (OPD) in the Emergency Department will screen individuals for COVID-like symptoms and determine the urgency of their treatment requirements. "Rooms no 1 to 12 in the new private ward are to be earmarked for hospitalization of COVID-19 positive EHS beneficiaries," the memo further read.

Addressing infrastructure concerns, the AIIMS has asked its Engineering Services Department to install UVGA filters and HEPA filters in the new blocks at the Masjid Moth Campus.

Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that out of three samples sent for genome sequencing, one was identified as JN.1, while the others were Omicron variants. Health Ministry sources reported a total of 109 JN.1 COVID variant cases in the country on December 26. Despite the World Health Organization's recent classification of JN.1 as a variant of interest distinct from its parent lineage BA.2.86, the global health body underscored that the overall risk associated with JN.1 remains low based on current findings.