A committee of experts constituted under the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), founded on the directions of the house Ministry, has concluded that the third wave of Covid-19 could peak around October.
According to an exclusive report by Times of India, the report has noted that “paediatric facilities — doctors, staff, equipment like ventilators, ambulances, etc. are nowhere near what is also required just in case an outsized number of kids become infected”. The report has been submitted to the PMO.
Meanwhile, the group headed by NITI Aayog member VK Paul, in their recommendation shared with the govt last month, has suggested preparing 23 hospitalisations for each 100 positive cases in an exceedingly future Covid-19 infection surge.
This estimation is above the projection the group had made in September 2020 prior to the second wave, when it calculated that about 20% of patients with “severe/ moderately severe” symptoms would require hospitalisation, The Indian Express reported.
After the Covid-19 second wreaked havoc, the advice to line aside a bigger number of hospital beds relies on the pattern seen during April-June to the current year. Reportedly, during its peak, on June 1 when the active caseload across the country was 18 lakh, 21.74% cases required hospitalisation within the 10 states with the most cases, of them, 2.2% were in ICU.
The Centre is fully able to tackle a possible third wave of COVID-19 and a provision of Rs 23,123 crore has been made for this purpose, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Friday. He said special emphasis is being given to strengthening paediatric care amid apprehension that the third wave may affect children quite others.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is fully able to tackle a possible third wave of COVID-19. A provision of Rs 23,123 crore has been made to cater to it, said Thakur, who is additionally the minister for youth affairs and sports.
Special emphasis is being given to strengthening paediatric care as experts fear that the third wave may affect children quite others, he said. Some experts have warned that the third wave of COVID-19 may affect children more while others have said there’s little reason to believe this theory. However, experts concur that there’s a requirement to enhance paediatric Covid services within the country.
