Amid the sustained rise of Covid-19 cases across the country, the Union Health Ministry on Monday, March 27, chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness status of the entire spectrum of management of the pandemic with states and Union Territories through video conferencing. The meeting was chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. Also present were NITI Aayog Member, Health, Dr VK Paul and Secretary, Health Research, Dr Rajiv Bahl.
Rajesh advised the states to undertake mock drills across all health facilities on April 10 and 11 to ensure operational readiness of hospital infrastructure, including oxygen cylinders, PSA plants, ventilators, logistics, and human resources. He informed about the status of the last mock drill which was conducted on December 27 across 21,939 facilities — 16,601 government and 5,338 private. Over 94% of PSA plants and oxygen concentrators were found functional across the country while over 87% of ICU beds, ventilators, oxygen beds, and isolation beds were found in working condition.
The Union Health Secretary referred to the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the high-level review meeting held on March 22, and advised states to be alert and ensure preparedness for Covid-19 management. He cautioned states/UTs against any complacency and advised them to follow up on the priorities listed in the joint advisory issued on Monday by the Departments of Health Research, and Health and Family Welfare.
He also stressed on ramping of testing with a higher proportion of RT-PCR, and whole genome sequencing of positive samples. Urging everyone to follow Covid appropriate behaviour at all times, he also stressed on the need to increase administration of precaution dose among people, especially for the vulnerable population group.
The meeting also discussed the weekly positivity rate in Maharashtra, which has gone up to 4.58% as on March 24 from 0.54% in the week ending March 3. In Gujarat, it has increased to 2.17% from 0.07%. In Kerala, weekly positivity shot up to 4.51% from 1.47%. Karnataka witnessed average weekly positivity rise up to 3.05% from 1.65% while Delhi has seen weekly positivity rise to 4.25% from 0.53%.
Similarly, Himachal Pradesh witnessed weekly positivity increase to 7.48% from 1.92%. In Rajasthan, it has increased from 0.12% to 1.62% and Tamil Nadu reported an increase in weekly positivity from 0.46% to 2.40% in the same period.
The Union Health Secretary said that irrespective of the new Covid variants, 'Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and Adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour' continue to remain the tested strategy for Covid management. This would facilitate undertaking of appropriate public health measures, he said.
States were also urged to ensure availability of sufficient designated beds and health care workers, enhance community awareness regarding disease and vaccination, and regularly update COVID-19 data on the Covid India Portal.