Opp tells govt to prepare against 3rd COVID wave

SHILLONG, June 1: Sounding a note of caution about the possible third wave of COVID-19, Opposition legislator, Ampareen Lyngdoh, on Tuesday suggested the state government to be proactive and not take the risk, like this year, of getting smitten by the dreaded pandemic.
Informing that the third wave is already in full bloom in states like Maharashtra, Ampareen said, “When they first indicated the onslaught of the second wave, nobody listened. Few states prepared themselves and yesterday itself 8,000 children in Maharashtra alone were declared COVID-positive.”
“Will the Government of Meghalaya wait to be hit once again like we were hit in the second wave or will we prepare,” she asked.
“If the state government does not prepare immediately against the third wave then I’m afraid the most vulnerable section of our community, which is yet to be included under the category of vaccination, will be hit,” she dreaded.
The MLA also questioned as to why was Ganesh Das Hospital, designated for children and pregnant women, converted into a COVID hospital.
Asking whether Meghalaya has adequate pediatrics hospitals, specialists and infrastructure in the city and outskirts, she said, “We just finished a meeting with the UNICEF and now they are willing to train doctors who aren’t paediatricians.”
“This morning, during the same meeting with UNICEF, we saw that the children hospital has four beds for COVID care that will cater to kids. Are these the only beds? Shouldn’t the government not just react now but prepare itself for any future wave,” the senior Congress legislator added.
Accentuating the need to work together, Ampareen said, “They (children) are not even under the vaccination category. What is going to happen? Are we going to witness more sad stories? We really need prepare ourselves. The community has to be ready,” she said.