PANJIM: In all seven children below the age of 18 years succumbed to COVID-19 infection and 16,246 – 11 per cent of total COVID cases reported in Goa – were infected with the disease in Goa during the first two waves of the pandemic, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday. All the children who succumbed were suffering from co-morbidities.
Briefing media persons on the preparedness to tackle the anticipated third wave of coronavirus, Sawant said that the government has already started preparing the medical infrastructure, procuring requisite medicines and equipment and training the required manpower, including health professionals and counsellors and will be ready with all preparations by June 10.
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Sawant said since the predicted third wave is likely to hit children below 18 years, following suggestions by the expert committee to the task force, it has been decided to implement the given suggestions and provide infrastructure pertaining to child healthcare.
The government has proposed commissioning 10 additional neo-natal intensive care units (NICU) in the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) and five NICUs at the North Goa District Hospital, Mapusa, he said.
A decision was also taken to increase the number of paediatric ICU beds from 6 to 14 at the existing paediatric ICU at GMC and to set up a new 60-bedded paediatric ICU and two maternal and child health wards of 30 beds each at the super-specialty block.
According to Sawant, it was decided that the administration will be in a state of readiness to convert 20 per cent of the adult ICU beds into paediatric ICU beds, if the need arises. Besides this, stress has been laid to procure essential equipment, medicines and manpower and to seek the services of paediatricians.
Also there will be a common Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for government and private paediatricians in coordination with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, for the management of COVID-19 in children.
