Himachal Government has urged the Central Government to provide 200 additional ventilators to the state from PMCAREs fund, said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday.

The Chief Minister was presiding over a meeting with the senior officers of the State Government and Principals of Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College Tanda and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Ner Chowk in Mandi through video conferencing.

He said that presently, there are 49 functional ventilators in Dr. Rajendra Prasad Medical College, Tanda. 19 more ventilators would be provided to Medical College Tanda immediately and 35 more ventilators would be provided to Ner Chowk Medical College, he added.

Thakur further said that in order to ensure adequate supply of oxygen to the medical colleges, 20 MT each additional storage capacity would be created in Indira Gandhi Medical College, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College and Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College at the earliest.

He said that similar efforts should be made to establish PSA plants at various health institutions in the state.  The CM also directed that it must be ensured that all the test reports are made available within 36 hours.

HIMACHAL LAUNCHES VACCINATION DRIVE FOR 18-44 AGE GROUP

Himachal Government on Monday launched COVID-19 vaccination drive for 18-44 years age group in the state.  Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur launched the vaccination drive from Government Senior Secondary School, Chhota Shimla at Kasumpti, Shimla.  He said that for this drive, 213 vaccination centres had been set up in the state and  urged the people to get themselves registered and schedule their appointment.

Thakur said that 21090 persons had booked their schedule till now. The next date of vaccination for 18-44 years would be May 20 and sessions for that day would be published on the COWIN portal on May 18, he said. He further said that other sessions for the vaccination would be held on May 24, 27 and 31 for this age group.

Later on Thakur asked the ASHA workers to ensure better coordination with the Covid-19 patients in home isolation so that proper vigil could be kept on their health parameters.  Interacting with ASHA workers virtually from Shimla said that since about 90 percent of the total Covid-19 patients in the state are in home isolation, the ASHA workers have a key role to play by acting as a bridge between the patients and Health Department. Delay in shifting the Covid patients in home isolation to hospitals is one of the major causes of fatality in the state, he said.