FARIDKOT
To meet the demand of medical oxygen during the possible third wave of Covid-19, Punjab has scaled up its in-house generation of the life-saving gas from 121 MT to 429 MT per day, a hike of almost 255%, by setting up generation plants and installing O2 concentrators, people familiar with the development said.
During the second wave of Covid, the state had in-house capacity to generate 121 MT of oxygen, including 60 MT from pressure swing adsorption (PSA) generation plants, and the rest by using oxygen concentrators and air separation oxygen units.
The state health department was also receiving 100-120 MT of oxygen per day as part of its quota from the central government. During the peak of second wave, around 250 MT of oxygen was being used in Punjab’s government and private hospitals per day.
Punjab has 83 PSA oxygen plants in government health institutes. Of these, 66 have been installed. The central government had promised 41 PSA plants in Punjab under the PM CARES funds, of which 40 have been installed. Among 41 plants, 28 have been provided by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and the remaining 43 have been funded by the state government or through donations from non-governmental organisations.
“The state is now self-sufficient in generating medical oxygen and the health department can meet most of the requirements in case of emergency in the third wave. Looking at the in-house capacity, we will be less dependent on the oxygen quota from the central government. We have ramped up medical facilities and services in the state, as a preparation for the third wave,” said Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, state nodal officer for Covid-19.
{{/usCountry}}“The state is now self-sufficient in generating medical oxygen and the health department can meet most of the requirements in case of emergency in the third wave. Looking at the in-house capacity, we will be less dependent on the oxygen quota from the central government. We have ramped up medical facilities and services in the state, as a preparation for the third wave,” said Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, state nodal officer for Covid-19.
{{/usCountry}}Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated 35 PSA plants, including a 1,000 LPM PSA plant at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College at Faridkot, under PM CARES fund, through a virtual mode.
Govt to set up 20 Covid testing labs
The Punjab government will set up 20 more Covid testing laboratories in 20 districts across the state.
The Baba Farid University of Health Sciences has been assigned to establish Covid testing labs, costing ₹1 crore each, including procurement of the machines. At present, the state has seven such testing labs in six districts with a capacity of testing 50,000 samples a day.
“The BFUHS will establish 20 labs, which will double our testing capacity. Right now, we Covid testing labs in three government medical colleges at Faridkot, Amritsar and Patiala, while two labs in Mohali, one each in Jalandhar and Ludhiana,” said BFUHS vice-chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur.
“Besides, 5,000 beds, along with accessories are also being procured and installed in various hospitals, starting from primary health centres to the civil hospitals and the government medical colleges,” he added.