Sunday, 20 June 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
The government succeeded in controlling the second wave of Covid-19 and is fully prepared to face another wave in the future as is being forecast by experts. Chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat said this while speaking at the BJP’s working committee meeting on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, Rawat said that due to better health services in Uttarakhand, people from outside the state came here for treatment in difficult circumstances. This was also the major reason for the death rate rising in Uttarakhand. There has been a manifold increase in oxygen cylinders, ICUs and ventilators in the state after April 1. Modern Covid care centres with 500 bed capacity each have been set up in Rishikesh and Haldwani. He further said that considering the probability of a third Covid wave, the government is preparing a plan for renting hotels too in the districts so that the caretakers of the patients do not face inconvenience.
The chief minister informed that 66 per cent vaccination of those aged above 45 years had been completed in the state while the vaccination of those in the 18-44 years age group is underway. He averred that other states are also following the Vatsalya Yojana introduced in Uttarakhand for providing support to the children orphaned by Covid-19. To increase the reach of the scheme, amendment was made to provide assistance to children who lost even one parent or the sole earning family member to Covid. Even those children orphaned by reasons other than Covid in this period will benefit from the scheme, said Rawat, adding that 556 children had been identified so far. He said that soon the state government will present the factual statistics on the employment provided by each department till date. Thousands of youths will get employment in the state by December, he said, adding that the government is preparing the work plan for this purpose.
