State health minister Banna Gupta said on Saturday that Jharkhand needs to be prepared with more testing facilities, beds, isolation norms and ventilators for children in a bid to curtail the effects of a possible third wave of Covid-19, which according to experts, could affect children the most.

Chairing a meeting with the top bureaucrats of the state in Ranchi, Gupta pressed for the need to be ready with child ambulances, mobile RT PCR testing facilities, special Covid kits for children in home isolation and beds in pediatric wards for children who contract the infection.

Gupta also asked officials to hold a meeting with all pediatricians of the state and prepare a roadmap to tackle the third wave of infection in Jharkhand.

“We also need to pay attention to lactating mothers and provide nutritious food to them. Child specialists, children’s hospitals, newborn care units and delivery and labour wards will also have to be used effectively to minimise the impact of a third wave,” the minister said.

Health experts across India have warned that the third wave of Covid-19 was likely to affect children and asked people to take necessary precautions. Last week, the Supreme Court too asked the Centre to prepare for a third wave and cautioned that it may affect children. The apex court also asked the government to rope in NEET aspirants and nurses to handle the third wave.

The health minister said the government would have to use pediatric wards at all sadar hospitals in districts to ensure treatment for coronavirus-infected children. The state, he said, also needs to prepare for cremation of children who fall victim to Covid-19 if the virus causes fatalities during the third wave.

The meeting was also attended by health secretary Arun Kumar Singh and senior officials of the National Rural Health Mission. The officials informed Gupta that Jharkhand had the highest testing rate for Covid-19 among Indian states and that at least 45,000 people were tested for Covid-19 every day in the state. Jharkhand, they said, was also producing at least 800 metric tonne of medical oxygen every day for use within the state and outside.

Gupta asked officials to focus on rural areas to ensure the infection does not spread among villages. Officials assured the minister that the government was running extensive campaigns at the panchayat level to spread awareness among villagers about Covid-19.