Amid Covid third wave concerns for kids, Punjab CM orders mission mode preparedness
Coronavirus Punjab: Amid projections and concerns of a possible third wave of Covid and its impact on children, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday ordered the Health Department to go into mission mode with preparation, which will include specialised training of all doctors in the Health Department by the end of June, while directing house-to-house surveillance to control the current spread of the disease in the rural areas.
Captain Amarinder Singh directed the state expert group head, Dr. KK Talwar, to look into all aspects of medical education, and to get training modules prepared for the Health Department. He underlined the need to ensure that all Medical Officers in the state are trained to deal with the third wave of Covid, especially in children.
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Expressing concern over the spread of Covid in rural areas, the Chief Minister directed that teams of Health and other departments immediately start house-to-house surveillance in every village.
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The teams should be equipped to give basic medicines without delay, and RAT testing of symptomatic persons must be got done at the earliest, he said. He also directed that some CHCs in each district be prepared as L2 facilities, with oxygen concentrators and doctors with proper treatment protocols.
Stressing the importance of involving Sarpanches in this exercise, the Chief Minister ordered their prioritisation, along with that of Panches, as well as Block Samiti and Zila Parishad Chairmen and members, in vaccination. The Police Department must also provide support, especially through their Village Police Officers, he added.
The Chief Minister directed the concerned officials to take strict action against private hospitals overcharging Covid patients and said they should also be made to refund the payments received.
He asked DCs to coordinate with the Health Department to track all such complaints. The private hospitals should be asked to display the official rate prominently, and the same should be widely publicized, he stressed.
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