Pune: Next for PMC, a book on experiences and lessons from the pandemic

“The PMC has decided to come up with a 200-250 page book on its handling of the pandemic and experiences in containing its spread in the city. It can be beneficial in future. The information on efforts of the administration and health system in controlling the situation during tough times would be available for others in the state,” said Sanjeev Wavare, Assistant Medical Officer of Health.

The book will focus on three aspects of coronavirus infection and response of PMC in its control — at the beginning, during the spread of the disease including efforts by civic administration in controlling it, and direction in future for handling a similar health emergency.

Wavare said there were a lot of issues that were noticed at various levels during handling of the Covid crisis, which would provide directions in planning public health facilities in future. The book would also contain experiences of health workers, frontline workers and all those who took on various responsibilities in the field, elected representatives and civic officers who were at the forefront of handling the pandemic, he added. “The book will also have information collected from private organisations, data and analysis of various aspects of the pandemic,” Wavare said.

The PMC would publish at least 1,000 copies of the book with equal number in Marathi and English language.

The civic body will take a call on the author as well as publisher of the book soon.

The book would have detailed information on setting up of Covid Care Centres (CCC) with facility for ICU beds and ventilators, agreement with private hospitals to reserve beds for Covid patients from urban poor category, contact tracing undertaken to identify high-risk and low-risk citizens who came in contact with Covid positive patients, house-to-house survey, free testing and laboratory facility, X-ray and other diagnosis facilities.

The PMC initiative of helpline for ambulance, control centre, isolation centres, dedicated hospital for treatment of pregnant women with Covid, declaring and management of containment zones, dashboard on availability of beds, introducing Sayyam mobile application, running community kitchen for providing cooked food to the needy, coordination with social organisations, creating health infrastructure through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), public awareness on Covid and distribution of PPE kits, sanitisers, N-95 mask, medical equipments, medicines and cloth masks to citizens will find a mention in the book.

According to PMC, it is the leading civic body in vaccination of citizens as it set centres across the city, held special drives at old age homes and market places, for slum dwellers as well as those going abroad for higher education or to participate in Tokyo Olympics.