The 104 helpline ofthe State Government shall provide 24x7 real-time information with respect toavailability of beds in the hospitals. This was decided at ahigh-level meeting to review the current Covid situation in the State chairedby Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh.
Expressing concern atthe reports about shortage of beds for Covid patients in various parts of thecountry, the Chief Minister said the current situation was comparativelycomfortable in Punjab with respect to the availability of beds in the hospitals,both government and private sector.
He asked the HealthDepartment to ensure that 75 percent of beds were reserved in L2 and L3facilities for Covid care besides imposing a complete ban on elective surgeriesso that the hospitals should focus on the treatment of Covid patients.
He furtherappreciated the Western Command for making efforts to dedicate more beds andmanpower for Covid care in the Military hospitals in the State.
The Chief Ministersaid the fresh restrictions have led to the stabilization of the overall situation.He said the CFR has already declined from 1.75 percent to 1.4 percent in theState. “Our R naught value of 1.09 is minimal in the region and much lower thanthe national average, but our positivity rate remains high at 10.3 percent,”shared Captain Amarinder Singh. However, there could be no room for complacencyand the State must remain ready to face any contingency, he added.
The Chief Ministerasked the Police department to ensure strict enforcement of the restrictionsput in place so as to prevent further spread of the virus in the state.
The Director-General of Police (DGP), Mr. Dinkar Gupta,updated the Chief Minister that 220 contact tracing teams were working day andnight to ensure limited gatherings as per the government norms. He said 156FIRs have been lodged against the erring owners of marriage palaces, restaurants,and hotels across the state.
The CM expressedsatisfaction over the increase in testing and sampling which has now crossedthe 50,000-mark daily. He was apprised that the RT-PCR testing capacity in theState has reached 43,000, which can further ramp up the sampling and testing to60,000-mark per day. The Chief Minister asked the districts to ensure adequatesampling and increase RAT testing, especially in cases of contact tracing.
Referring to theavailability of oxygen in the state, the Chief Minister said he had alreadywritten to the Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, to seek his personalintervention for uninterrupted supply of oxygen to the state. He mentioned that136 MT, including 32 MT production within the State, has been allocated toenable the state to overcome the crisis. He also directed the Industriesdepartment to ensure the availability of the oxygen supply and the Healthdepartment should also ensure equitable and timely availability of the same tothe needy hospitals, both government and private.
He underscored theneed to ensure the proper use of oxygen and to prevent any hoarding. He lauded theefforts of the Health Department in making available 234 oxygen concentratorsto the government Covid isolation facilities in the State. This would enablethe State to optimally utilize oxygen and ensure adequate oxygenation for thepatients requiring the same at L2 facilities.
Earlier, the Chief Secretary, Ms. Vini Mahajan, apprised theChief Minister that the Industries department has already constituted specialteams to monitor 24x7 supply and demand at the ASU refilling units to ensurethat no oxygen was diverted to the non-Covid care facilities in the state.Specific teams would also coordinate the supply of liquid oxygen to Punjab fromdesignated suppliers in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
Ordering a crackdown on oxygen hoarding in the State, theChief Minister categorically stated that no trader or manufacturer would beallowed to indulge in illegal hoarding of liquid medical oxygen and anybodyfound wanting would be dealt with sternly. The Chief Secretary informed thatdetailed guidelines have already been issued to the Industries, Health andPolice departments to ensure strict compliance of the directions in thisregard.
Prominent amongothers who attended the meeting included Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu,Medical Education and Research Minister OP Soni, Chief Principal Secretary toCM Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh, Principal SecretaryIndustries and Commerce Alok Shekhar Principal Secretary Health Hussan Lal andPrincipal Secretary Medical Education and Research DK Tiwari besides othersenior officers of the concerned departments.