Bhubaneswar: With early trends showing positive results, Odisha government on Monday announced that plasma therapy will be extended to Ganjam district which has been worst-hit by COVID-19 pandemic.
After reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the district via video-conferencing, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that convalescent plasma therapy will begin at Tata COVID hospital in Ganjam from tomorrow. As part of the therapy, plasma from a recovered COVID-19 positive patient is transfused into another patient to build a strong response against the virus. It is believed that critical COVID19 patients from Ganjam and nearby areas will benefit from the plasma therapy.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik last week had inaugurated a plasma bank at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack which is now acting as the nodal centre in the State.
It is pertinent to mention here that the plasma therapy is being given to COVID-19 patients at SUM COVID hospital in Bhubaneswar and Ashwini hospital in Cuttack. The health condition of four out of six COVID-19 positive patients, who have received plasma therapy, has improved while the condition of two other patients has been reported to be stable.
Apart from the announcement about the therapy, a decision was taken for a new 100-bed Covid Hospital to be set up by Ashwini Hospital in Berhampur.
Out of the total 18,110 COVID-19 positive cases reported in Odisha, highest of 5,766 have been reported from Ganjam district. The entire focus of Odisha government is now on Ganjam and an amount of Rs 25 crore has been sanctioned for the district from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for COVID19 management.
(Edited By Bikram Keshari Jena)
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