Be alert, Covid-19 is not over yet, says health minister Mansukh Mandaviya

NEW DELHI: Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday said Covid-19 is not over yet and asked people to be alert and directed officials to strengthen surveillance.
Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a review meeting with health officials on the Covid-19 situation amid the spurt in global cases and said the government is prepared to manage any situation.
"Covid is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation," tweeted Mandaviya.
Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, NITI Aayog has urged people to use a mask in a crowded space, indoors or outdoors.
The use of masks is all the more important for people with comorbidities or are of higher age, he added.
The secretaries of health and Ayush ministries, Department of Pharmaceuticals and Department of Biotechnology, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Rajiv Bahl, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog V K Paul and National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) Chairman N L Arora and other senior officials also attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, the health minister urged Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot to strictly follow the Covid guidelines during the Bharat Jodo Yatra or postpone it.

The Union health ministry on Tuesday urged all states and union territories to ramp up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of newer variants.
In a letter to states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate undertaking requisite public health measures.

He highlighted that India with its focus on the five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour has been able to restrict the transmission of the coronavirus and is recording around 1,200 cases on a weekly basis.
Covid cases surge in China
China Covid surge has sparked variant worry as cities across China scrambled to install hospital beds and build fever screening clinics on Tuesday.

China this month began dismantling its stringent "zero-Covid" regime of lockdowns and testing after protests against curbs that had kept the virus at bay for three years.
Now, as the virus sweeps through a country of 1.4 billion people who lack natural immunity having been shielded for so long, there is growing concern about possible deaths, virus mutations and the impact on the economy and trade.
(With agency inputs)