Chandigarh, To ensure the safety of pregnant women from the coronavirus, the Health & Family Welfare Department said on Saturday that it has imparted special training to around 70 gynaecologists for providing tele-medicine consultations to pregnant women in the state. Besides, separate labour rooms have been set up in all district hospitals to conduct the deliveries of all those women who have tested positive for COVID-19 , Giving details in a press release, the Health Minister Mr Balbir Singh Sidhu said that instructions have been issued to all Civil Surgeons to promote tele-medicine consultations by Gynaecologist as well as general OPD services which are available on the eSanjeevani App. He said that now the app is easily available on android mobile, hence anyone can avail the free services of online-consultations. It has proved to be a boon for pregnant women who did not want to visit normal OPD fearing the risk of contracting COVID-19. However, ANC programme has continuously remained functional in all HWCs/SCs since the lockdown to ensure the continuance of services in rural areas. Mr Sidhu said that a total of 90,463 ANC registered from April to June, 2020 and 63,827 deliveries took place in the state. COVID-19 test has been made mandatory during the third trimester of pregnancy under which 12,479 pregnant women tested for COVID-19 between April and June, out of which 118 tested positive. He said 56 deliveries of COVID patients were conducted successfully in government facilities of which 20 were normal and 36 LSCS. He assured that no stone would be left unturned to provide quality health services across Punjab. The Minister said that Mother & Child Healthcare services continued unabated in state as our health care staff conducted safe deliveries and provided antenatal care to pregnant women. Regular instructions were also being disseminated to all districts administrations regarding the continuation of non-COVID essential services. The state government has fixed the rates of private hospitals that are treating corona patients and also instructed them to provide tertiary healthcare services to patients referred by the government hospitals.