On the request of Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for help in “war-like” COVID situation, the Western Command of the Indian Army on Monday extended all possible help, including medical staff and medically trained combatants, to Punjab to meet the exigent shortage in hospital. Besides, it has also extended support in reviving the state’s old Oxygen plants that are currently lying defunct.
Western Command’s GOC-in-C Lt General RP Singh, at a virtual meeting, also offered to provide staff to run the 100-bed COVID facility proposed to be set up in the building loaned to the State Government by CSIR for the purpose.
The Chief Minister, later at another review meeting with the State Government’s top officials and medical experts, said that the State Government was also approaching the Union Home Ministry to provide manpower and ICU beds through the Border Security Force (BSF).
Technical and specialist cover will be provided by the Command Centre; and 15 trained nurses have already been sent to Patiala to support the civic staff. Further, experts will be sent to visit the defunct Oxygen plants at existing industrial units to assess their status and extend whatever support needed for their restoration,” said Lt Gen Singh during their meeting.
Lt Gen Singh said that though their resources were stressed on account of requirements also from other states, including Delhi, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir, “we will extend all possible help to Punjab to tackle the situation”, which the Chief Minister said was critical, with Ludhiana alone reporting 1300-plus cases today and Oxygen allocation from the Centre currently at only 105 tonnes as against the demand of 300 tonnes daily.
Of the 105 tonnes, the State was actually getting only 85 tonnes as the rest was being diverted to PGI Chandigarh.
During the internal review meeting, the Chief Minister said that the State Government was making all efforts to secure medical oxygen to supplement its depleting stocks.
The state Industries’ secretary Alok Shekhar said that Jalandhar and Amritsar had been facing crisis situation on the oxygen front for the past few days, which the State had somehow handled through judicious management.
Reacting to reports of threats of strike by certain organizations of health or medical workers, the Chief Minister made it clear that threats will be met with dismissal “as we cannot tolerate this kind of nonsense in a war-like situation”.
473 STAFF NURSES TO BE RECRUITED IN GOVT HOSPITALS OF PATIALA , AMRITSAR
The Punjab cabinet on Monday gave approval for recruiting 473 staff nurses in the government-run hospitals of Patiala and Amritsar, a move aimed at effectively combating the coronavirus crisis in the state. The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here on Monday evening.
These posts of nurses will be taken out of the purview of the Subordinate Service Selection Board to Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot through written test on the basis of merit. Rajindra Hospital in Patiala and Guru Nanak Dev hospital in Amritsar are attached with the government medical colleges of Patiala and Amritsar.
According to a Chief Minister's Office spokesperson, the basic pay of these staff nurses would be Rs 29,200 per month. These posts were created under the state government''s plan of restructuring to bring far more efficiency in the functioning of the Medical Education and Research department.
CAPT AGAINST LOCKDOWN, SAYS SITUATION EXPECTED TO GET WORSE IN PUNJAB
Predicting that the pandemic situation is expected to get worse in Punjab, the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said that he was against the imposition of a lockdown.
“While I am not proposing lockdown, which leads to exodus and economic woes, other stringent steps are being taken to manage the escalating crisis,” said the Chief Minister during a virtual COVID review meeting.
He pointed that the State, a day before, reported over 7,000 cases, with the situation expected to worsen, especially in south Punjab amid the rising number of cases in neighbouring states.