With shortage of ICU beds Covid drugs How can admn deal with increasing cases in Amritsar district? Use PM Cares funds foreign aid After 2004 Tsunami which hit the Eastern coast of the country killing approximately 10000 people a National Disaster Management Act was passed by the Parliament in 2005 to deal with such crisis. Under the same Act lockdown was imposed for the first time last year by the PM and a National Disaster Management Authority came into being under his chairmanship to provide with timely and effective response mechanism. To deal with the present situation of shortage of ICU beds Covid drugs and oxygen supplies the Centre must use large budgetary allocation funds to the tune of Rs 35000 crore and other sources such as PM Cares Fund foreign aid and Armed Forces medical assistance etc. to end the problem of vanishing stocks of vaccine doses oxygen supplies and other important medical facilities for Covid patients. The Centre must play its role and responsibility in helping the states to come over such issues and lessen the death rate due to lack of medical facilities. The government should not indulge in politics as lives of several persons are at stake. It is also time for people to come out and tell their representatives that in the upcoming elections they would elect their leader on the basis of his/her performance and services amid the pandemic. Naresh Johar Rope in medical practitioners to help cure patients with mild infection at home To deal with the present situation of crunch in medical facilities at hospitals the administration should rope in government and private medical practitioners and ask them to give some handy tips and advices on social media platforms such as Twitter Facebook and Instagram to help those patients with mild infection which could be easily treated and cured being in home isolation. For increasing the number of beds and medical facilities for critical patients the administration should provide beds at Primary Health Centres and dispensaries and also turn hostels of Guru Nanak Dev University and colleges into makeshift Covid hospitals. Mass testing and tracing of people at all congested public areas is must and vaccination drive should also be ramped up to save people from severe infection. The administration should also take steps to check black-marketing of Covid drugs and keep a check on emergency services being provided to the patients at exorbitant prices. It could be done with government-NGOs cooperation. They should keep a track of every bulk purchase of emergency drugs and oxygen to prevent hoarding analyse the availability of beds by keeping a record of admission and discharge history of patients check the demand and supply of oxygen and critical care drugs so that only the deserving patients get the stocks. Last but not the least public awareness about the importance of following government-issued guidelines is also must. Ankur Gupta Govt must augment health infra Disaster of any kind poses challenges to the government to act instantly and provide the citizens with necessary aid and help lessen the impact of such events on their lives. Natural calamities such as floods earthquakes major fires hailstorm tsunami incessant rain or epidemics affect a large number of people drastically. Generally impact of such calamities is seen on a smaller scale as compared to the present Covid situation and by pooling funds and resources alone the tense situation could be eased so far. But we did not have any experience in dealing with a pandemic and thus several lives were lost to the deadly virus for not being provided with the required medical facilities. A disaster of this proportion can only be managed if the entire population joins hands with the government and cooperates. The pandemic which started last year has come back with a vengeance this year too. It took too long for the Central and state governments to assess the ferocity of the malady and hence the situation went out of control. Shortage of oxygen beds in hospitals and requisite medicines and less medical and paramedical staff has added to the woes. Several political parties ignored the pandemic and held huge rallies in various states which aggravated the situation and there has been a huge spike in number of infections following such events. Still the regimes have not learnt any lesson and are showing cursory interest in containing the spread. Black marketeers and hoarders have added to the stressed conditions. The government should act responsibly and provide the states with the required supplies without any partiality as due to shortage of medical aid many lives are at risk. They should also think about awarding Covid warriors appropriately enhance Budget allocations to augment health infrastructure and above all it should stop worrying about the elections and focus on improving the pandemic situation in the nation to win the war against the virus. Hardish Sandhu Only complete lockdown will help Due to the imposition of 15-day partial lockdown by the government the whole state is in dismay. Though lockdown is essential to break the chain and check the spread of the raging virus imposition of partial lockdown with so many relaxations and loopholes will not serve the purpose. The number of masses at markets and public places has not reduced significantly and traffic load on city roads is also same as the normal days. Moreover many retailers can also be seen working behind the shutters flouting all norms. As the spiraling cases have crippled the health infrastructure of the state a complete lockdown for 15 days would help in breaking the chain of the deadly virus. Sachin Sharma Vaccination of all need of the hour The number of Covid cases in the district as well as the nation is rising at an alarming rate. People who need to be hospitalised are being denied admission due to non-availability of beds and other required medical facilities such as medical oxygen supply life-saving drugs such as Remdesivir and ventilators. Owing to these conditions there are fatalities being reported from across the country due to lack of medical support. Amid the second wave of Covid mortality rate among youth is drastically more. The administration had failed to visualise the second wave of Covid and didnt strengthen medical infrastructure to deal with another surge which followed the first wave. Strict enforcement of Covid norms people adhering to guidelines and staying home wearing double masks (covering nose and mouth) maintaining social distance and nationwide vaccination are some of the effective ways through which the pandemic could be contained. People should be made aware that the new strain is more virulent and deadly. Those who violate norms should be punished strictly. The government must ramp up the vaccination drive as even if vaccination doesnt ensure that one wont catch the infection it ensures that the infection is mild and the infected person does not need to be hospitalised. The government must also provide all possible help and support to the healthcare workers who are working tirelessly to serve the nation. Dr KS Manchanda Arrest hoarders of life-saving drugs A mammoth surge in Covid-19 cases in the district has resulted an acute shortage of hospital beds medical oxygen and medicines required for treating the Covid patients. People have been left to fend for themselves in the midst of unparalleled and unprecedented Covid calamity. The absence of adequate health facilities is the root cause of the traumatic experience. The district is in dire need of public-funded inexpensive health infra for all mega-oxygen bed hospitals and handsomely paid government doctors to overpower the monstrous virus. The doctors and paramedical staff who retired in the recent past should be roped in by the administration to plug the gap in the health infrastructure. All NGOs and big business magnates and tycoons should be prevailed upon to set up make-shift hospitals. University and college hostels and their sports stadiums should be utilised to arrange more beds. Good samaritans should come forward to help the administration in this time of adversity. Doorstep vaccination campaign should be initiated. People should shed hesitancy to get inoculated as vaccine has the potency to prevent transmission and mortality and it can prevent the virus from getting mutated. Mobile vaccination clinics can come handy to penetrate communities which are cut-off from accessing public health system. It should be ensured that people religiously follow safety norms and Covid appropriate behaviour. Hoarders and black-marketeers of life-saving drugs and oxygen should be put behind the bars without any delay. Isolation tracing and treating should be exploited to the hilt to contain the spread of the virus. Gatherings of all kinds should be banned totally. Home hospitalisation where feasible should be given a chance to lend a breathing space to the overburdened public and private hospitals. Above all it is time for all residents to smash to smithereens any barrier that prevents them from getting vaccinated against Covid. Lockdown though undesirable should be regarded as a last resort. Tarsem S Bumrah People must follow norms to curb spread Shortage of ICU beds medical oxygen and Covid vaccine is a cause for concern but in absence of these people must at least follow the government-issued guidelines such as always wearing a mask avoid going out of their house without any valid reason practice social distancing and respect travel and other restrictions imposed by the government to break the chain and check the alarming spread of the pandemic. To deal with the increasing Covid cases the administration can also impose Section 144 ask shop owners to follow odd-even concept convert schools buildings into Covid care centres and most importantly make people aware of these guidelines so that people dont violate them. Ekam noor Singh Act strict against black marketeers For the past one year the state particularly Amritsar has been hit hard by the Covid pandemic. The health infrastructure is on the verge of collapsing as the city also recently reported deaths due to shortage of medical oxygen supplies at hospitals. The problem of shortage of ICU beds vaccines and important drugs such as Remdesivir are also a serious cause for concern. The government as well as the district administration should immediately act strict against the violators and black-marketeers who are selling essential drugs at exorbitant prices and ensure that the government-issued guidelines are followed by the citizens. Also people should be provided with the required medical health facilities without any delay as the number of people losing battle to the deadly virus is rising at an alarming rate daily. TS Bhatti Vaccinate vulnerable groups first The second wave of Covid-19 has exposed the poor state of our health system. Shortage of ICU beds oxygen cylinders ventilators and important drugs such as Remdesivir injections etc are forcing many hospitals to deny admission to severe Covid patients who eventually die gsping for oxygen and other medical facilities. The government must substantially increase the number of ICU beds ventilators and oxygen supply at the hospitals. Also make-shift hospitals could be constructed established at community centers auditoriums and stadiums as the number of patients requiring hospitalisation is high amid the second wave of Covid. More medical and paramedical staff should be employed to cater to the increasing patients requiring medical health. Also under the vaccination drive more vulnerable groups should be prioritised as they have higher chances of succumbing to the virus. Parampreet Kaur Better plans required to ease the situation The government must do better planning assess the shortage and optimum future requirement of ICU beds in hospitals. Around 50 per cent of the beds in government and private hospitals and nursing homes should be kept ready for immediate conversion to ICU beds. Even hotels guest houses and marriage palaces etc. could be used for the purpose on a short notice if the need arises. Industries that produce medical oxygen should be helped to augment production and proper network for its speedy distribution should be put in place. Medical fraternity be better looked after ensuring their personal safety by providing quality PPE kits etc. They are selflessly serving people and save several lives by putting their own lives at risk. Good work must be rewarded and staff should be liberally honoured. Transportation of Covid drugs should also be improved so that minimum time is wasted in the transportation process. BM Singh Improve transportation of drugs oxygen The government should have prepared for the inevitable second wave of Covid much earlier. Negligence on the part of the government is not pardonable. By taking presumptive measures and taking precautionary measures nations like Israel have become Covid-free. The Centre should take an inspiration from such nations and take appropriate steps to check the spread of Covid. The second most populated country in the world is gasping for air. There is scarcity of emergency drugs oxygen supply and ICU beds at hospitals. The sole focus of the government should be on ramping up healthcare infrastructure and also boosting the vaccination drive by providing maximum doses with the states and getting the population inoculated. Imposition of lockdown for few days will help decongest the already overloaded hospitals and also give time to authorities to revamp healthcare infrastructure and give relief to the overworked health workers. There is a need to elevate production of drugs such as Remdesivir making more ICU beds available for critical patients and regular oxygen-supply. Transportation of oxygen should also be improved so that minimum time is wasted in the process. Dr Raman Gupta Effective plan must to deal with pandemic Shortage of ICU beds oxygen and virus treatment drugs is horrifying not only in Amritsar but also in various cities throughout the country. Though vaccine rollout has raised hopes still lot has to be done to check the spread of the virus in the nation. Unfortunately many vaccination centres in the city have run out of the doses. Such a situation needs to be avoided. There needs to be an effective policy for procuring the doses in advance from the Centre before the existing stock vanishes. Shortage of vaccine doses ICU beds and essential drugs such as Remdesivir required for critical patients is a cause for concern. Due to no planning at any levels it is the patients who are suffering and many are losing their life to this deadly virus. There should be micro-planning at local level and complete information on number of ICU beds oxygen supplies and drugs available should be uploaded on various websites of the district administration so that needy people could easily access that online. Technology should be used aptly to deal with the current situation of crisis. LJ Singh Defeat Covid by following norms Covid is an unprecedented natural calamity which the whole world is fighting with. Man has been mastering science and using it to deal with various geographical phenomena such as floods major fires earthquakes and droughts etc but never imagined of being hit by a microscopic virus which would effect this large number of people. The crisis is deepening with each passing day and number of deaths are also increasing at an alarming rate. The virus has affected all sections of the society unbiasedly but humans are indulging in politics in dealing with it too. People need to be provided with the required medical facilities equally. The future generations will talk about these times saying a large number of patients died for being unable to access medical facilities and gasped for air. Though supply of oxygen has improved to an extent a lot needs to be done to tackle the raging second wave where a lot of people are succumbing to the deadly virus. The government must establish make-shift hospitals to provide maximum number of patients with beds and healthcare facilities. Also the government must perpare in advance for the inevitable third wave of Covid which the experts are predicting will affect children the most. People must also not lower their guard and keep on following the government-issued guidelines to keep Covid at bay. No doubt vaccination is an effective tool to fight Covid but it does not ensure that one wont get infected. It rather makes sure that even if one contracts the virus the infection would be mild and not turn out to be fatal. Prof Mohan Singh Make-shift hospitals need of the hour The pandemic has exploded due to the inefficiency of the Central and state governments. Knowing that the second wave of Covid was inevitable the governments did not make necessary arrangements to deal with the virus and it is due to this laxity that the situation turned from bad to worse. The second wave has proved to be more fatal and also there are record high cases reported amid this wave as compared to the previous one. Critical patients are gasping for air and many are being turned down by various hospitals as they are already full to their capacity and are left with no beds and also are facing shortage in supplies of medical oxygen. Rather than indulging in petty politics the Centre and state should work in a coordinated manner and ensure adequate supply of vaccine drugs and oxygen to all without any partiality. The entire country has failed its citizens of their right to healthcare. The healthcare system has collapsed and the government must act immediately to ramp up medical infra and rope in more healthcare workers to improve the situation. Indu Aurora Shut down city ramp up medical infra The second wave of Covid is more deadly than the previous one and the number of patients requiring hospitalisation is more. It was obvious that the healthcare system would not be able to bear the burden of increased number of patients requiring medical support and thus a number of lives have been lost owing to non-availability of medical oxygen support. Life-saving drugs such as Remdesivir have gone out of stock and black-marketeers have been hoarding and selling them at exorbitant prices. Even the vaccine supplies are running short in states and the drive which should have been ramped up has rather slowed down. People are unable to get beds in hospitals both government and private and also there is shortage of ventilator support and intense care units. No doubt the situation is bad as the virus has mutated and also the administration did not make arrangements to face the second wave. The only way left to fight the virus and break the chain is to shut down the nation. The administration must utilise the lockdown period to make appropriate arrangements to deal with the situation and eradicate the virus. The vaccination drive and logistics should be handed over to retired Army and CAPF medical professionals for better supervision. The bureaucrats who hold the degrees of doctors should be deputed at medical colleges to run the affairs in a coordinated manner for better supervision. Lastly people must know their duty to adhere to Covid norms and practice self-imposed lockdown to escape the bitter pill of blanket lockdown to fight the pandemic. Anil Vinayak Rope in students to serve patients The second onslaught of Covid has put a visible strain on our existing healthcare infrastructure with our frontline medical fraternity doing a stupendous service to safeguard lives of critical patients at a massive personal cost. Punjab even in the first wave has been one of the most proactive states to take harsh measures to contain the deadly virus it was the first state in the country to enforce complete lockdown even before the Centre decided to do the same the next day. With our city hospitals being overwhelmed under the burden of spiking caseloads the administration must focus even more stringently on enforcing containment measures and ramp up vaccination drive manifolds. The vaccine is our only arsenal against this virus and to break the chain of transmission public movement will have to be minimised for at least two weeks. To enforce Covid discipline and to increase vaccine coverage student organisations can be roped in. Being National Students Union of India (NSUI) president we have already coordinated with medical students for their services in this emergency situation and are delivering medicines to Covid-positive patients and for their counselling. We are already assisting the administration with our free home food delivery kitchen service being run by students. Akshay Sharma People must follow norms sincerely Considering the large influx of cases amid the second wave of Covid-19 the most effective solution to prevent overcrowding at hospitals is to follow the Covid-19 guidelines sincerely. Many people were complacent during the first wave that Covid is not harmful and shoed laxity in following norms which led to a huge number of cases in the recent times. The administration should act strictly against the offenders and at the same time be cautious that jobs of people are not affected while enforcing the guidelines. Jatinderpal Singh Batth QUESTION Do you think people living in congested places and quarters with limited toilets can protect themselves from contracting the virus. What steps the administration and the Health Department must take to protect them? Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (May 13).

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