Mumbai Gets Ready For The Third Wave Of Coronavirus, Inaugurates COVID Care Center For Children

New Delhi: A committee of experts constituted under the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has warned that the third wave of COVID can peak around October in the country and have sought better preparations in medical infrastructure for children as they can be at similar risk as adults. Keeping the predictions of experts in mind, Mumbai city has started to prepare itself against the next wave of COVID-19. Mumbai University’s Kalina Campus has been converted into a Children’s Covid Care Centre.

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The Covid Care Centre (CCC) for children has been built on an area of 5 thousand square feet and houses an isolation and treatment area. It is a 30 bedded facility.

Talking to NDTV about this new facility and explaining what all it consists of, caregiver at Covid Care Centre (CCC) in Mumbai’s Kalina Campus said,

We have equipped this facility with all possible things – from toys, play area, television to separate room for breastfeeding, wi-fi connection for video calls/online study and more. The motto was very clear, every child should feel this as their home.

Also Read: First Covid Vaccine For Children Above 12 Approved In India, All You Need To Know

At the COVID care centre, children below 12 years who have mild to moderate COVID-19 will be admitted. Even parents of children who are infected with COVID can stay at the facility.

Highlighting how the facility has been designed, caregiver at Covid Care Centre added,

We have given special focus on designing this facility, in order to ensure that children do not feel that they have been admitted into a hospital, the walls in hospital have been painted with different colours, toys of various size and shapes have been kept for them to play and cardboard beds have been installed. There is also the arrangement of a 24×7 ambulance, so that if there is any emergency, we can shift the child immediately to the nearby hospitals, which we have our tie-ups with.

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.