Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that the Jharkhand government will provide oximeters to people infected with corona in home quarantine. This is on the lines of Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal government and was announced by the Jharkhand Chief Minister in a tweet on Saturday. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had termed the pulse oximeter as a ‘safety net’. He claimed that this helped reduce the deaths of Covid-19 in Delhi. The Delhi government had given oximeters to patients with no symptoms or symptoms who were in home isolation. However, some doctors say that the device should be only on a medical prescription so that there is no shortage of the same.
An oximeter is an electronic device used to detect oxygen saturation in the bloodstream. It has to be applied like a clip on the finger or ear. The sensors detect the flow of oxygen into the bloodstream and the reading appears on the oximeter’s digital screen. If the level on the screen is in the range of 95% to 100%, it is considered normal. The purpose of providing an oximeter is to test the oxygen level of their body at home and oxygen support can be provided to patients if needed. E-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart are selling oximeters with prices ranging from Rs 400 to Rs 3000.
A person infected with the coronavirus is more likely to suffer from pneumonia. It is generally observed that an infected person has difficulty breathing and in some cases, the patient needs oxygen support, especially in asymptotic patients. At times, if the oxygen level decreases in the asymptotic patients, it is not known. If the symptoms are not apparent, initially low oxygen does not affect the respiratory system of the sick person. Hence, if the amount of oxygen goes down, the condition of the infected person may get worse. Therefore the oxygen level of corona infected patients needs to be monitored and the oximeter helps to save lives. Doctors say that if the oxygen level is 92 or less, the patient should immediately contact a doctor.
The Chief Minister tweeted that despite limited resources, the Jharkhand government is making all efforts to strengthen the health system. The authorities have been instructed to arrange oxygen at the panchayat level and to provide oximeters to people living in home isolation. The chief minister has also re-tweeted a tweet from state Health Minister Banna Gupta where he had released the list of corona infected in the state and said Jharkhand is fighting corona pandemic and will soon emerge victorious. He added that Jharkhand has crossed the 10 lakh corona test mark. More than 32,000 patients have gone home healthy, the recovery rate is 66.70% and is growing steadily, while the mortality rate is 0.93%.
