The Union Cabinet has authorized Rs 23,123 crore below Phase II of the government’s Covid-19 Emergency Response & Health System Preparedness Package amid the pandemic’s second wave. Of the total quantity, states will bear Rs 8,000 crore even though the remainder will be borne by the Centre. This was the initial meeting of the Cabinet following a massive-scale reshuffle on Wednesday. The government has targeted accelerating wellness program preparedness and respond instantly to early prevention, detection, and management.
The package pays particular focus on children, most likely to be most vulnerable to a third wave of the virus, with a provision for paediatric units in all 736 district hospitals below the Centrally Sponsored Scheme element. An further 20,000 ICU beds will also be set up, of which 20% will be reserved for children. There is also a provision to add further hospital beds and establish larger field hospitals in tier II/III cities and district headquarters.
New Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that the central element would also be used to augment the ambulance fleet and build a buffer stock for crucial medicines. The government will also set up 1,050 liquid health-related oxygen storage tanks with health-related gas pipeline program.
It will also extend further assistance for IT interventions, such as expanding tele-consulting facilities in all districts as properly as manage rooms and helplines at the state and district level.
The scheme’s Central Sector element contains provisions to repurpose for Covid-19 6,688 beds at AIIMS, central hospitals, and other institutions, IT systems such as a Covid-19 portal, and a teleconsultation platform — eSanjeevani. The platform at the moment supplies 50,000 tele-consultations a day at present. The government aims to scale it up to 5 lakh each day consultations. It will also establish an integrated manage and command centre and strengthen the CoWin platform and National Centre for Disease Control.