DW BUREAU / PATIALA Amid projections and concerns of a possible third wave of Covid and its impact on children, the district administration has set up two task forces besides an expert group. Divulging the details after taking stock of all the preparedness related to possible third wave of Covid, Deputy Commissioner Kumar Amit said that we have learnt a lot from the second wave and to overcome the issues cropped up during the second wave, we have to take utmost care for gearing up for the possible third wave. He said that the district has formed a District Level Task force and a Pediatric Task Force besides a Pediatric Expert Group of doctors. "The District Level Task Force will monitor the overall arrangements and activities while the Pediatric Task Force to ensure preparation for Covid-19 cases in children and will take immediate action as the cases come to fore. The Pediatric Expert Group comprising of senior doctors will provide technical inputs on treatment of children affected by Covid-19 and will assist and guide the District Level Task Force," he added. Stressing on the need of enhancing existing L-2, L-3 bed capacity by minimum 15 percent for the third wave, the deputy commissioner said that special attention would be given to children in this enhanced capacity. He asked the health officials to keep the entire medical infrastructure in place keeping in view the pediatric need. He said that we should gear up for implementing a surge plan, in case of sudden increase in Covid infections, in case of possible third wave. He directed the Pediatric Expert Committee to visit the government and private hospitals of the district for mapping the required infrastructure. Underlining the importance of testing and keeping the pace of sampling at 4500 to 5000 daily, Kumar Amit further said that this would be helpful to detect the infection cases and contain the particular areas in advance to curb the spread. (editor@dailyworld.in)