Delhi civic bodies preparing for COVID third wave, to set up dedicated care facilities for children

The three municipal corporations of Delhi will set up dedicated COVID care facilities for children as part of their preparations to deal with a possible third wave, officials said on Thursday.

It is being anticipated that the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic will majorly affect children, so arrangements are being made to avoid any crisis-like situation and provide better care to kids, municipal officials said.

According to civic authorities, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to convert its Girdhar Lal Maternity Hospital into a dedicated child COVID-19 care facility.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is exploring the possibilities of setting up special child care wards at its Tilak Nagar Hospital. The East Delhi civic body will create two dedicated child COVID care wards at its Swami Dayanand Hospital in Dilshad Garden.

"We have decided to convert Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital into a dedicated COVID-19 facility for children. Initially, we will dedicate 70 beds to COVID care of children. All these beds will be equipped with oxygen support. Out of these 70 beds, 10 will be reserved as NICU beds for infants and another 10 will have ICU facilities,” an official of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation said.

Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital is a 200-bed facility located near Ajmeri Gate in Old Delhi. It is likely to take a month to make the hospital a dedicated child COVID care facility and regular meetings are being held for the purpose, the official said.

"We will also set up an oxygen plant there which will cater to the needs of the hospital. Other maternity services which are currently being offered at the hospital will be shifted to Kasturba Hospital near Jama Masjid," he said.

A senior official of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) said the civic body would allot two wards at Swami Dayanand Hospital for child COVID care.

"Chances of children getting infected in the third wave are high so we are planning to dedicate two wards with a capacity of 30-40 beds to child care. All these beds will have piped oxygen supply. These two wards will come up in the recently renovated building of the hospital,” the official said.

A senior SDMC official said that though it is anticipated that the third wave will hit the city after September, preparations have been started in advance to avoid any crisis-like situation.

“To bolster our health infrastructure, we are planning to create dedicate child COVID care facility at our Tilak Nagar Hospital. It will have oxygen-supported beds and NICU beds. We are yet to decide on the number of beds to be kept for children,” he said.