Lawmakers of Palamau and Santhal Pargana commissionary stressed on intensifying awareness drives in villages to bust myths around the Covid-19 vaccine, increase testing facilities, devise ways for micro-level health surveillance and suggested several other measures to combat the spriling cases of Covid-19 during their online interaction with chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday.

Over a dozen MPs and MLAs took part in the discussion held by Hemant under the backdrop of a rural surge in coronavirus cases.

Highlighting the measures taken so far, Hemant appealed to them to work in tandem to strengthen the government’s efforts. “While we are working overtime to tackle the second wave, it’s time we also start preparing for the third wave, which as per experts, is going to affect children. On the other hand, with majority of our population residing in villages, we have a big task at hand to prevent this," he said.

The chief minister also said the government will install two Cobas machines, which would become operational by the end of June, in order to increase the rate of Covid testing and overcome the delay in getting the results of RT PCR tests.

“We are focussed on increasing oxygen-supported beds. From 250 oxygen-supported beds in the initial phase of the second wave, we now have in excess of 10,000 such beds. Covid Circuit and Sanjeevani Vahan are also helping patients in getting oxygen-supported beds,” said Hemant.

The chief minister also said that Gamharia-based Indo-Danish Tool Room would soon start producing oxygen flow meters (a device that regulates oxygen supply) so that the state would not have to be dependent on Gujarat. The government is also simultaneously in touch with other manufacturing companies for procurement of the same, he said.

“Besides cylinders, flow meters are scarce in the market today. Therefore, we are soon going to start our own manufacturing at flow meters at Indo-Danish Tool Room, an industrial training institute (ITI). Designs are almost ready and manufacturing of flow meters on our own will help to tackle the shortage,” he said as per a press release issued in the evening.

To address the challenges of transportation of critical patients from villages, Hemant announced that two cardiac ambulances would be provided to every district in a few days.

Earlier, lawmakers raised several shortcomings in the health infrastructure at the grassroots level. Congress MLA from Poriyahat Pradeep Yadav spokeof how non-Covid patients were dying for want of timley medical help.

“A 30 year-old youth, who was admitted to Dumka medical college died two days ago only because he didn’t get oxygen. When I intervened after his parents contacted me, the medical superintendent told me that he couldn’t be put on ventilator or provided an oxygen bed because he tested Covid negative only a day ago. The report could be false but the reality is that the person died. This is a significant issue that needs to be addressed," he said.

BJP MLA from Rajmahal Anant Ojha spoke of how delays in obtaining test reports were leading to complications. “Reports are delayed by over two to three weeks, which confuses people. Unlike urban areas, people in remote areas don’t get ready to get tested in the first place," he said, adding that vaccine hesitancy among villagers needed to be addressed too.

JMM Maheshpur MLA Stephen Marandi demanded distribution of medical kits to everyone in villages irrespective of whether one was in isolation or not. “At every health centre, there should be a helpdesk that can guide people in the event one doesn't get a hospital bed. Unlike urban areas, people in villages cannot use mobile apps to tap resources,” he said.