Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Thursday said he is preparing his official residence for the treatment of coronavirus patients during the third wave.
“There is no lack of preparedness to tackle the third wave. There are more Covid dedicated hospitals now. Two 500-bed hospitals each were developed with the help of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Rishikesh and Haldwani in addition to the existing ones,” he told reporters in Dehradun.
Mr. Rawat said district magistrates (DMs) have been asked to keep one or two hotels ready to be converted into Covid care centres if the need arises.
“We will do anything to deal effectively with the third wave. I am also preparing the CM residence to accommodate Covid patients during the third wave,” he stated.
The CM said no one had imagined that the second wave of the pandemic would be so strong.
“But we rose to the challenge and ramped up facilities across the State. I went to the Covid care centres and hospitals in all 13 districts of the State to examine the status of facilities and know about the problems faced by patients,” he said.
The Uttarakhand High Court had on Wednesday reprimanded the State government for its alleged lack of preparedness in view of the third wave.
“Will the State government wake from its slumber when our children start dying in the third wave?” a division Bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice R. S. Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma had asked.
