State Health (H&FW) minister S Pangnyu Phom Thursday making a statement on Covid-19 in the assembly said that the state has proceeded to prepare for the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
Pangnyu said that the department would continue to work to cover entire population with vaccination, which was the most effective weapon against the virus.
He informed that a paediatric task force has been set-up under a senior director of the H&FW with experts drawn from the private and public sector to look into preparedness. Phom said that the state government has identified infrastructural requirements and other areas that needed to be strengthened. Further, Pangnyu said that the government was taking steps to further strengthen ICU beds, testing facilities as well as create additional capacities at the sub-district level to cope with the possible third wave in a more effective manner. He said that there were a number of challenges with regard to vaccine hesitancy, testing hesitancy and capacities of healthcare delivery system, which the department would continue to take steps to address going forward.
Highlighting the human resources that had been augmented by the government, Pangnyu informed that 390 posts were created in 2020 specifically keeping in view the requirements on account of COVID.
In addition to filling up those posts, he said that around 150 resultant vacancy posts were also filled up in an expeditious manner. 150 MOs, 14 specialists, 258 nurses, five dental surgeons, 23 AYUSH MOs, six research scientists and six BSL lab technicians, 54 ANMs/FHWs, 11 OT technicians and 10 ECG technicians were appointed to meet the requirement of healthcare professionals for COVID-19, the minister said, adding that incentives were also announced for private doctors.
To meet the increased hospitalization, Phom said the government ramped up the bed strength before the second wave to 1153 beds with 296 beds without oxygen support, 669 Beds with oxygen support, 99 ICU beds without ventilators and 89 ICU beds with ventilators respectively. Prior to second wave, he said the bed strength was 805 with 608 beds without oxygen support, 68 beds with oxygen support, 68 ICU beds without ventilators and 61 ICU beds with ventilators.
He also informed that the government was building a 200-bedded hospital, with 24 paediatric beds, for acute medical care in CIHSR Dimapur, which he said was likely to get operational by September. “This hospital, should there be a third wave of Covid-19, will be immensely useful,” Phom said.
Oxygen being a critical element in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, he said the government made efforts on a war footing to augment oxygen capacity. He said that state procured oxygen cylinders and have nearly 6000 cylinders of various capacities as compared to 1417 cylinders at the beginning of the pandemic last year. He said that the total capacity of oxygen that could be stored in these cylinders was more than 17.5 metric ton.