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Hospitals asked to step up Covid vaccination in Punjab
To carry out vaccination seven days a week for at least eight hours daily till March 31; of the 1,291 registered private facilities, 891 have not administered a single dose
Taking note of the low vaccination numbers in the state, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday asked all private and government hospitals and health facilities to offer hassle-free vaccination services for at least eight hours daily, seven days a week, till March 31.
There should be no requirement of a separate certificate if an eligible 45+ years person brings the medical record regarding co-morbidities, he said.
Also read: Punjab closes schools, colleges till March 31 amid Covid spike
The directions came during the Covid review meeting chaired by the chief minister, who pointed out with concern that of the 1,291 registered private facilities, 891 have reportedly not administered a single dose. He asked the district administration to act strictly against such hospitals, stressing that private hospitals need to join the government battle against Covid.
Be prepared for a long battle: Capt
The chief minister said the Covid incidence in Punjab has remained relatively low over the last one year, and the state has consistently remained at the 18th position among states in terms of the number of Covid cases. Though the death rate has been a matter of concern, but at 206 deaths per million population, Punjab compares well against Delhi at 542 and Maharashtra at 431, he said.
After bringing the problem under control by the end of last year, the state is again seeing a surge for the last one month. From a low of around 200 cases daily and deaths in single digits, Punjab has gone to around 2,000 cases a day, and the deaths are also increasing, he said.
“We have to be prepared for this second surge,” he said, pointing out that the 1918 Spanish flu had four spikes. “We have to be prepared for a long battle,” he warned.
The Chief Minister assured, however, that his government was fully prepared to deal with the second wave.
Punjab Congress puts rallies on hold till March 31
Punjab Congress will not hold any political gatherings for the next two weeks in view of the spike in Covid cases in the state, Captain Amarinder Singh said, appealing to other political parties and their leaders to keep their gatherings within the prescribed 50% of capacity, subject to maximum of 100 in closed and 200 in open spaces. “No political gatherings should take place in the most affected districts,” he said.
Underlining the need for strict enforcement, the chief minister ordered compulsory enforcement of wearing of face masks in the state. He directed the police and health authorities to take all those moving around in public areas, and on the roads, without face masks, to the nearest RT-PCR testing facility for taking nasopharyngeal swabs to ensure that they are not asymptomatic Covid cases.
He asked the Amritsar deputy commissioner to talk to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (SGPC) and the management of Durgiana temple to encourage devotees to wear masks inside the shrines.
Rural areas equally hit this time
The rise in cases was a matter of concern, particularly in the rural areas which had seen fewer cases last year, said the chief minister, directing departments to launch awareness campaigns in villages.
Earlier, state health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said unlike previously, when there were more cases in the urban areas, Covid cases are now almost equally divided between the urban and rural areas.
