The long awaited expensive ECMO (Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) treatment in the State will soon be a reality as nine ECMO machines are scheduled to arrive in Odisha by the end of this month.
"Two machines have reached the State already. All the nine machines will reach by the end of this month. There is no dearth of manpower to operate these machines. Those appointed to extend the costly treatment have around three years of experience in handling the machines. They all are skilled. But still they will be sent to Kolkata for undergoing special training," Director, Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET), CBK Mohanty said on Friday.
The machines will be installed at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, he said.
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Speaking on the Covid situation in the State, Mohanty said the daily infections are gradually decreasing. “The government is also expecting a better situation in near future,” he said.
"We should remain prepared for the possible third wave. It will be good for the State If it doesn't happen. The State government had stepped up measures to plug the lapses, wherever those were, in the Health Department during first and second wave," Mohanty added.
The infections in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar are still to decline. It is happening only because of outsiders' inflow into the Twin cities. The government is making all out efforts to inoculate more and more people in the State, especially the Twin city, he said.
The infection in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar would decrease if visit of outsiders is checked. Obeying Covid appropriate behaviour is also another tool to arrest the increasing positive cases, he added.
Vaccination is going on in the State rapidly. There is no such vaccine which can fight a particular variant of Covid 19. So, people have to be aware and cautious, he maintained.
The number of fresh coronavirus cases is on a steady decline in all districts of the State excluding Khurda and Cuttack which continue to report a high number of cases, he said.
A total of 1,917 positive cases were reported from the 30 districts of Odisha on Friday. Of these, Khurda and Cuttack reported 518 and 256 cases, respectively.
Khurdha district of which State Capital Bhubaneswar a part, has become a major reason of concern for the Health Department as the single-day Covid cases are hovering around 400-500 in the city every day.