Shiromani Aklai Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday asked Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to assign districts to Ministers to cope with the COVID crisis in the State by ensuring all patients had access to medicines and oxygen as well as quality healthcare.
Sukhbir, who was in Sangrur to inaugurate a 25-bed COVID care facility equipped with oxygen concentrators established by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) — fifth such centre established in the State, also suggested the Chief Minister to open COVID Care centres in all 220 blocks in the State. Asserting that the Congress Government had only woken up to the magnitude of the problem recently and had announced few steps to combat it, Sukhbir said: “It is, however, a welcome step that the Government has accepted SAD’s suggestion and is finally going in for global tenders to procure vaccines.”
“If the SGPC could open 11 COVID centres within a short period of time, the Government could easily establish COVID centres in all blocks to address the need for emergency medical care in villages. This is very much the need of the hour with COVID cases on a sharp rise in the villages,” he said.
He said that government buildings and indoor stadiums could be used for this purpose. “The Government should also establish special teams to deal with the rise in black fungus cases and ensure that medicines, to deal with this disease, are available across the State,” he said.
SAD chief also announced that the SGPC was in the process of procuring 50,000 doses of vaccine and would start a drive to vaccinate people within a few days. “The Government should also talk to vaccine manufacturers and place purchase orders directly to meet the demand for vaccination in the State,” he said while calling for establishment of a more proactive pro-people war room which could handle the logistic challenges arising out of the COVID pandemic.
Asking the chief minister to give another push to upgrade healthcare facilities at the district and sub-divisional level, Sukhbir said that it was unfortunate that 17 out of 22 districts in the State did not have ICU facilities.