Kolkata: In view of a potential third wave of Covid, the Bengal government has set up a 10-member expert committee of doctors to chalk out plans to take effective measures to combat the virus. The main purpose of the new team also includes putting in an adequate health system to check pediatric Covid cases. According to the experts, it is assumed that during the third wave of Covid, children and their mothers may be infected more than what will be reported at the end of the current second wave. The expert committee comprises of Dr GK Dhali, OSD (Covid) and professor of IPGMER, Dr Maitrayee Banerjee from IPGMER, Dr Dilip Pal, principal of BC Roy Children Hospital, Dr Yogiraj Roy, School of Tropical Medicines, Dr Soumitra Ghosh from IPGMER, Dr Mrinal Kanti Das of IPGMER, Dr Bibhuti Saha of School of Tropical Medicine, Dr Ashutosh Ghosh from IPGMER, Dr Jyotirmoy Pal, RG Kar Medical College and Dr Abhijeet Chowdhury from IPGMER. Health department has issued an order in this regard. The order says that the Director of Health Services and Director Medical Education shall be working along with the expert committee to ensure that all preparatory steps are taken to deal with the third wave of Covid pandemic. "The expert committee shall be required to meet at such regular intervals as it may deem necessary for executing the various responsibilities relating to assessing the requisite infrastructural, logistical and clinical preparedness for meeting the challenges as may be emerging from the evolving situation. The committee shall make such necessary recommendations to the competent authorities as may be required for the purpose," reads the order. The health department has also taken up various initiatives to strengthen infrastructure in various hospitals. The State Health department plans to dedicate at least 26,000 beds for women and children in both government and private hospital hospitals. Around 1,300 PICU and 350 NICU beds would be put in place in the state to handle the unforeseen situation. Pediatric ventilators will be placed in adequate numbers in the district hospitals so that they can treat critical children.

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