Bengaluru: The State Government has decided to set up Paediatric Wards in all District Hospitals as part of its preparedness to face the possible third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, said Health and Medical Education Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar.

Talking to media after chairing a meeting with senior officials of Health and Family Welfare and Medical Departments to review the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the State and containment measures here yesterday, he said a dedicated 70-80 bed Paediatric Ward will be prepared in all District Hospitals. Additional Paediatricians and nursing staff will also be recruited wherever it is necessary. A special training session will be conducted through RGUHS to train MBBS and other technical staff. Oxygen generation plant will be set up in every Taluk and District Hospital across the State, he noted.

Dr. Sudhakar said seven genomic labs will be established across the State to study the mutated strains found in second wave. These labs will come up at 5 Medical Colleges, Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru and Vijayapura District Hospital. This study will help us to understand the virus better and for development of better medicine and treatment protocol based on the nature of virus.

Lockdown restrictions 

On relaxing the current complete lockdown, he said Technical Advisory Committee has submitted its report and Chief Minister will decide on modalities of easing restrictions gradually. Experts have advised that restrictions can be eased if positivity rate is less than 5 percent and the number to cases reduces to 5,000. However, positivity rate is still high in many districts. So, they need to exercise caution.

Vaccination

He said Karnataka has received another consignment of 1.64 lakh doses of Covaxin. The available stock will be used to vaccinate citizens above 45 years who are due for second dose. Vaccine will be eventually made available to all once the supply increases, he added.

Black Fungus

The Minister said Black Fungus infection is treatable. However, in some cases where the infection has reached the eyes, removal becomes inevitable to weed out even the tiniest trace of the infection so that it does not invade the brain. If the fungus invades brain, then it is very dangerous. Hence, the eyes are removed to stop the spread to brain and not due to lack of medicine. Treatment of Black Fungus will be decided by Ophthalmologists and ENT Specialists based on the condition of each case. I am in constant touch with Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers D.V. Sadananda Gowda to ensure sufficient supply of medicine, he stated.