Punjab CM announces another Rs 331cr to prepare for third wave of coronavirus
Punjab will initiate the 3rd Sentinel sero-surveillance survey, especially focused on children in the age group of 6- 17 years, this month, ahead of the imminent third wave of coronavirus, for which Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced Rs 331 crore in addition to the money already allotted for Emergency COVID Response.
With this, Punjab will become the only state in the country to get a children-dominated serosurvey conducted to assess the prevalence of the infection among under-18s. Captain Amarinder Singh also ordered the establishment of a paediatric unit in each District and one Centre of Excellence in Paediatrics for the State.
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The government, he further announced, will also establish LMO storage tanks in every district to ensure 24X7 availability of medical grade oxygen.
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Medical gas pipeline systems will also be set up at each District, Sub-division and CHC level, he disclosed, also announcing the establishment of 17 additional RTPCR labs that shall be established. ICU beds in Government Hospitals shall also be increased to 142, and a hub & scope model for telemedicine and teleconsultation shall also be established, said Captain Amarinder.
The Chief Minister said the outcomes of the 3rd Sentinel sero-surveillance survey will be utilised to determine further localised restrictions as the state prepares for the third wave of coronavirus. GIS-based surveillance and prevention tools will be used with an auto-trigger mechanism for localised restrictions, he disclosed.
Dr KK Talwar disclosed, in response to a query from the Chief Minister, that in the first and second wave, 10 percent of those infected were under 18, and while there was no concrete data to support such a projection, the state was preparing to handle more cases of children in the third wave.
-PTC News
