The Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan has urged states to keep a watch on the active COVID caseload with the country currently witnessing a hospitalisation rate of 5-10% even as India on Monday started administering third “precaution-dose” of COVID vaccine to healthcare and frontline workers, and people over the age of 60 with co-morbidities.
In his letter Mr. Bhushan termed the COVID situation as dynamic and evolving with the possibility of the need for hospitalisation changing rapidly. He has directed states to keep a watch on oxygen and ICU beds, and ventilator support besides monitoring the requirement of healthcare workers and their availability on a daily basis.
He added that the current rise in cases appears to be driven by Variant of Concern (VOC) Omicron and the continued presence of another VoC Delta in large geographies across the country.
Earlier in the day the Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the public health preparedness for COVID and reiterated the importance of — Test, Track, Treat, Vaccinate and adherence to COVID appropriate behaviour against the on-going pandemic.
Health ministers and officials of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa, Dadra and Nagra Haveli and Daman and Diu participated in the meeting.
The Minister advised states to undertake regular review of health infrastructure strengthening, establish tele-consultation hubs in every district and focus on widespread awareness regarding available infrastructure and healthcare services.
Reiterating that the Centre is dedicated to supporting states in containing COVID, Dr Manuskh Mandaviya said that Central Government has provided support under ECRP-II for strengthening the health infrastructure across the country.
He urged the states to make robust preparation in terms of physical infrastructure and efficiently utilize the approved funds under ECRP-II and asked the State health ministers to review the implementation of physical activities under ECRP-II.
At the meeting it was suggested that operational status of infrastructure like beds, PSA plants, oxygen equipment be filled in by States on the national portal.
“They must be operationalised and kept in functional state to meet any evolving situation in future. It was emphasized that for real time data-driven analysis and information-based decisions in the fight against Covid, States should update their respective data on the monitoring portals. This would help in planning and assessing preparedness at several levels,” said the Ministry in its release.
States have also been told to review the buffer stock of essential medicines and ensure the shortages, if any, are replenished through timely purchase orders.
The Minister advised the States to increase vaccination of all eligible population, especially in low vaccination coverage areas/districts.
Stating that vaccination against COVID results in low hospitalisation and severity, as is seen globally, he emphasised on administration of ‘precaution dose’ for the identified categories and urged the States to ensure full coverage of the vulnerable population while asking to expedite full coverage of the eligible age group of 15-18 years at the earliest.
“States have been told to re-invigorate their teams to work at the ground level and strengthen monitoring and containment mechanisms besides being advised to hold regular meetings with regional officers of ICMR, NCDC, Airport Public Health Officers (APHOs) and the State Surveillance Officers,” noted the release.
Meanwhile speaking at an interaction on Twitter about home isolation amid rise in Omicron cases Health Ministry, joint secretary Lav Agarwal, on Monday, stated that the government is making efforts in terms of management of COVID-19 and people’s cooperation is very important to fight the pandemic.
“COVID vaccine remains a very important tool and this coupled with COVID appropriate behavior is vital to stay protected,” he said adding that while Omicron appears to be highly transmissible there is a much lesser hospitalization rate as most of the cases are mild and they may required home isolation.