Chest Hospital in Vizag equipped with ten new negative pressure rooms

The Government Hospital for Chest and Communicable Diseases in Vizag has now been equipped with negative pressure rooms for the treatment of coronavirus patients. Visakhapatnam District Collector V Vinay Chand (IAS) made the announcement on Thursday and stated that the rooms have been installed to prevent cross-contamination/

Explaining the features of negative pressure rooms, Collector Vinay Chand said that these rooms have a significantly lower air pressure as compared to the environment outside. It would therefore get difficult for the virus to survive outside, due to the pressure difference.

The District Collector inspected the new rooms set up at Chest Hospital and directed the hospital authorities to shift patients suffering from coronavirus into these rooms. He inquired if adequate staff is in place for every shift, and asked them to install all electronic equipment as per the requirement. The hospital authorities were directed to clean the rooms frequently, and approach the Collector’s office if they require additional funding for any other equipment.

Further, the Collector said that the new negative pressure rooms must be used only for the treatment of coronavirus patients. The rest must be redirected to the primary hospital, he said.

The Chest Hospital has now been equipped with ten new negative pressure rooms and eleven regular rooms dedicated to the treatment of coronavirus patients. Andhra Pradesh has reported 348 cases, while a significant 217 samples tested negative for COVID-19 as of 9 April 2020.