Punjab and Haryana health ministers on Tuesday monitored the Covid mock drills in various government hospitals of their states, conducted as part of a nationwide exercise to check preparedness to deal with any surge in cases.
Punjab Health Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra took stock of the mock drill held at district hospital, Mohali, where he visited the 120-bed special Covid Isolation Ward in the hospital and inquired about the availability of oxygen, ventilators, health staff, and essential medicines, among other facilities.
Jouramajra later told reporters that there are adequate arrangements and full preparedness in the government health institutions in the state to deal with any emergent situation.
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In response to a question, he said that the government has no plan yet to impose any restrictions related to Covid or to make wearing masks mandatory in the state.
Currently, people are being advised to wear masks and wash their hands frequently to avoid the deadly disease, he said.
"People must not panic, as there are a total of 38 active Covid cases and no case of new variant of Covid in the state," the minister said, adding that about 15,000 beds are ready in government hospitals across Punjab, including oxygen beds and ventilators.
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In neighbouring Haryana, Health Minister Anil Vij said that few Covid cases are being reported these days.
If the cases increase in the coming days, the state government has made all necessary arrangements to deal with the situation, he said.
While taking stock of the arrangements being made by the state government to deal with COVID-19 situation during a mock drill conducted at Civil Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, Vij enquired about the data of health facilities and equipment available in the hospitals of all the districts in the state.
Vij said the main objective of conducting this mock drill is to check the facilities and equipment available in the hospitals to deal with any rise in Covid cases.
He said there are an adequate number of hospital beds, ventilators and other equipment available to deal with the situation in case the need arises
