Stigmatising of Covid-19 patients and their families is resulting in cases turning up late at hospitals, with heightened breathlessness, and this could mean increased morbidity and mortality, Dr Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said on Thursday.
According to Dr Guleria, the disease can be treated successfully in most cases and 80% of patients need only supportive care, while 20% would require enhanced attention and of these only 5% need ventilators. He said that 15% of the more serious patients essentially need enhanced oxygen support rather than ventilators and the government's capacity-building had kept this in mind.
 

Stigmatising of Covid-19 patients and their families is resulting in cases turning up late at hospitals, with heightened breathlessness, and this could mean increased morbidity and mortality, Dr Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said on Thursday.
According to Dr Guleria, the disease can be treated successfully in most cases and 80% of patients need only supportive care, while 20% would require enhanced attention and of these only 5% need ventilators. He said that 15% of the more serious patients essentially need enhanced oxygen support rather than ventilators and the government's capacity-building had kept this in mind.