At the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, 352 healthcare workers, including 157 doctors and members of faculty, have tested positive for COVID-19, this after 95 per cent of them have taken both vaccine doses against COVID-19.

It was from December 20, 2021, that they started to test positive and now, the PGIMER administration is keeping a close watch on the situation because the spike in COVID cases among healthcare workers is in proportion with the spike in cases among the population at large, a hospital official shared. 

What's reassuring is that all these infections are mild in nature. Those healthcare workers staying at hostels on campus, with no option of opting for home isolation, have been shifted to Nehru Hospital Extension Ward. 

Though they are not sure if these are Omicron cases, the administration is on its toes and is taking all the steps necessary. Along with asking all the departments to adhere to COVID-appropriate behaviour, everyone has been asked to wear the correct masks at all times. In collaboration with the Association of Resident Doctors, the administration is converting the mess in PGI hostels into takeaway eateries. All tournaments and other sports events have been cancelled and the indoor courts are closed plus, all teaching activities have been shifted online. All of this was informed by the hospital in a statement.

Already struggling due to inadequate staff to cater to the patient load, the high positivity rate among staffers is an additional worry for PGIMER. Since March 2020, the time when the pandemic broke out in the country, over 2,300 healthcare workers, this includes doctors, nurses and sanitary staff, have tested positive, along with being reinfected in the second wave and the present surge.