COVID-19 WAR ROOM DIRECTIONS

Hon’ble Governor of Punjab and Administrator, UT Chandigarh, Sh. VP Singh Badnore today presided over War Room meeting. The meeting was attended by Sh. Manoj Parida, Adviser to the Administrator, Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, Principal Secretary Home, Sh. Sanjay Baniwal, Director General of Police & Dr. Vijay Namdeorao Zade, Finance Secretary at Punjab Raj Bhawan. Sh. Mandip Singh Brar, Deputy Commissioner, UT, Sh. Yashpal Garg, CEO, Chandigarh Housing Board, Sh. Vinod P. Kavle, Secretary IT, Sh. SS Gill, Secretary Education, Ms. Nitika Pawar, Secretary Social Welfare, Sh. Uma Shankar Gupta, Director Transport and Deputy Commissioners of Mohali & Panchkula, Director, PGIMER, Director Principal, GMCH-32 & Director Health Services, GMSH-16 attended through Video Conferencing. WAR ROOM DIRECTIONS 1. Dr. Jagat Ram, Director PGIMER stated that they have 232 covid cases in PGIMER, out of which 37 belong to Chandigarh, 112 to Punjab, 39 to Haryana, 28 to Himachal Pradesh & 16 from other states. He also mentioned that the positivity rate found in the samples collected from Chandigarh was 6.15%; whereas for other states it was 9.87%. He further mentioned that they have 135 patients suffering from Mucormycosis (Black fungus). He also mentioned that 90% of the health staff in PGIMER has been vaccinated. Hon’ble Administrator directed them to expedite setting up of oxygen plant (PSA) and also to start conducting Sero-Survey. Dr. Jasbinder Kaur, Director Principal, GMCH-32 stated that they have tested 6,841 covid samples, out of which 249 were found positive. Thus, the positivity rate was 3.6%. She also mentioned that there has been nil wastage of vaccines. She also mentioned that all covid patients under home isolation have been contacted and medicines provided. Dr. Amandeep Kang, Director Health Services stated that they have tested 20,812 covid samples, out of which 1,433 were found positive. The positivity rate was 6.8%. She further mentioned that the doubling rate in the city was 242 days. She also mentioned that the recovery rate was 95.2% and 3,43,300 Covidshield vaccine doses have been administered to the residents under Covid Vaccination Programme. 3. Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula stated that they have 880 active cases, Deputy Commissioner, Mohali stated that they have 3,141 active cases and Deputy Commissioner, UT, Chandigarh stated that they have 2,134 active cases.  The Hon’ble Administrator expressed satisfaction about the availability of adequate oxygen and medicines in all medical facilities.  The Administrator directed that the hospital in Sector 45 should be converted into an exclusive Paediatric Hospital for children, who suffer from covid.  The Administrator directed Sh. Vinod P. Kavle, Secretary Food & Supply to ensure that the ration being distributed under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMJKAY) Scheme reaches the beneficiaries. The distribution should be done properly, while strictly following the covid protocol.  The Administrator directed Sh. Sanjay Baniwal, Director General of Police to ensure that proper security is available in all medical institutions, so that the health officials feel protected and can work without fear. He also directed him to ensure that covid protocol is strictly followed in the city.  The Administrator expressed concern about the plight of the children, who have lost their parents due to covid. He directed that the school fees of all such children be exempted and if any child needs accommodation in the Administration’s welfare home, the same will be provided free of cost. He also directed Ms. Nitika Pawar, Secretary Social Welfare to prepare a comprehensive scheme in consultation with Sub-Committee of Administrator’s Advisory Council, so that the affected could be fully rehabilitated. 4. After detailed discussions, it was decided to continue the existing restrictions until 06:00 AM on 09/06/2021 (Wednesday) with following modifications :- (a) All shops will be allowed to open from 09:00 AM to 04:00 PM. (b) All sports facilities will be opened to sports persons, who can utilize the infrastructure by strictly following covid protocol. However, swimming pools and gyms will remain closed. (c) Barber shops/salons will be allowed to open only for hair-cutting etc. (d) Spa, Massage Centres, where physical contact is involved will continue to be closed.