Ghaziabad District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey has instructed Chief Medical Officer (CMO) N K Gupta to establish the clinics as per the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Stressing that only those with respiratory problems or other COVID-19 symptoms would be treated at the clinics, Pandey said a dedicated helpline will be launched soon to ensure timely treatment is provided to such people.
SARI clinics would conduct screening of people with COVID-19 symptoms through cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) and every bed would be equipped with an oxygen cylinder and oximeter to measure oxygen saturation, Gupta told .
After getting a report of the patient through CBNAAT, the sample would be sent for testing to check the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).
In case the patient has been detected COVID-19 positive, medicines would be provided to him as per protocol.
The main aim of establishing SARI clinics would be to identify COVID-19 patients who are suffering from breathlessness within one or two hours instead of 24 to 48 hours. Pulse oximeter would test the oxygen saturation in 'happy' hypoxia/silent pneumonia patients, he said.
Thereafter, the patients would be shifted to L1, L2 or L3 COVID-19 hospitals for treatment, Gupta added. CORR RHL