Mizoram health minister Dr R. Lalthangliana on Friday said the state is preparing for the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
During all-party-NGO-church meet on COVID-19 presided over by Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga, the health minister said that children-oriented facilities are being set up at Zoram Medical College (ZMC), the state’s lone dedicated Covid-19 hospital, as part of the preparation for the third wave.
He said that 10 bedded paediatric intensive care unit (ICU), 25 bedded neonatal ICU and another 10 bedded high dependency unit (HDU) are being set up at the medical college and hospital to specifically treat children infected with Covid-19.
According to Lalthangliana, the COVID-19 recovery rate is comparatively low because of rigid discharge protocols.
Unlike in other states, exit test is mandatory in Mizoram for Covid-19 patients to be discharged from hospital or Covid-19 care facilities, he said.
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He said that the state government has accelerated both vaccination and sample test for Covid-19 across the state.
According to the health minister, over 5.1 lakh people have been administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine till Thursday and of this 56,328 have been fully vaccinated.
He said that six kiosk COVID-19 Testing Centres have been set up in the state to facilitate Covid-19 test for any desirous person.
Apart from ZMC (dedicated Covid-19 hospital), there are 15 Dedicated COVID Health Centre (DCHC), 55 COVID Care Centre (CCC) 2 paid CCC and 177 Community Covid Care Centre (CCCC) in different parts of the state.
Home isolation for asymptomatic Covid-19 patient is being currently practised in all parts of the state barring Saitual and Kolasib districts.
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Food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister K. Lalrinliana also said that the state is making efforts to ensure that people are not starved during the pandemic.
The state now has a rice stock of about 2,51,136 quintals and 2,000 more metric ton of rice will arrive in the state very soon, he said.