States told to leave no stone unturned in preparing for high Covid surge
Premium- Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today reviewed public health preparedness to coronavirus vaccination progress with states and union territories
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya today reviewed public health preparedness to coronavirus vaccination progress with states and union territories, according to an official statement from the government.
The meeting was held in view of the rising cases of the Omicron variant and the recent decisions to roll-out vaccination for the age group 15-18 years and precautionary dose for identified vulnerable categories. The meeting was officiated by the Union Health Secretary Shri Rajesh Bhushan.
During the meeting, Mandaviya advised the states to leave no stone unturned in ramping up infrastructure to manage a high surge so that India escapes unscathed from this phase of Covid-19.
The health minister noted at the very outset that globally, countries are experiencing 3-4 times the surge in Covid-19 cases in comparison to their earlier peaks. The Omicron variant being highly transmissible, a high surge in case can overwhelm the medical system, he said.
Mandaviya said irrespective of the Covid variants, measures for preparedness and protection remain the same.
He urged the states to re-invigorate their teams to work at the ground level and strengthen monitoring and containment mechanisms. This was followed by a comprehensive and detailed discussion on various aspects of Covid management including ramping up of hospital infrastructure; increased testing; stringent restrictive measures for breaking the chain of transmission; and stress on Covid Appropriate Behaviour among the masses. Critical bottlenecks in medical infrastructure were also discussed.
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