PM Narendra Modi chairs high-level meeting on Covid-19 situation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a highlevel meeting on the Covid19 situation and vaccination as the government noted high caseloads in states like Kerala and Maharashtra to say that there can be no room for complacencyModi reviewed the status of augmentation of bed capacity for pediatric care and of facilities supported under Covid19 Emergency Response Package II and it was noted that states have been advised to redesign and orient primary care and blocklevel health infrastructure in these areas to manage the situation in rural areas a statement saidStates are being asked to maintain a buffer stock for drugs used in the management of Covid19 mucormycosis MISC at the district level it added It was discussed that across the world there are countries where the number of active Covid cases continues to remain high In India too the figures from states like Maharashtra and Kerala indicate that there can be no room for complacency the statement saidHowever the weekly positivity was at less than three per cent for the 10th consecutive week it added Modi underscored the need to rapidly augment the entire ecosystem to ensure increased oxygen availability including oxygen concentrators cylinders and PSA plantsEfforts are also on to install 961 Liquid Medical Oxygen storage tanks and 1450 medical gas pipeline systems with an aim to support at least one such unit per district the government saidThe ambulance network is also being augmented to ensure at least one ambulance per block Modi also reviewed the status of PSA oxygen plants coming up across the country and told that around one lakh oxygen concentrators and three lakh oxygen cylinders have been distributed to statesHe was also briefed about the concentration of cases in a few geographies districts with high test positivity as well as the week on week test positivity rate in the countryOn vaccines the statement noted that around 58 per cent of Indias adult population has received the first dose and nearly 18 per cent both doses Modi was also updated about the vaccine pipeline and increased supply of vaccinesHe spoke about the need for constant genome sequencing to monitor the emergence of mutants He was informed that INSACOG SARSCoV2 Genomic Consortium now consists of 28 labs distributed across the countryThe lab network is also linked with a hospital network for clinical correlation Sewage sampling is also being done for genomic surveillance States have been requested to share SARS COV2 positive samples with INSACOG regularlyModi highlighted the need to ensure adequate testing across the country and was told about the support being given to 433 districts to establish RTPCR lab facility in public health facilitiesAlso Read Moderna to develop singledose booster shot for Covid19 and fluThe principal secretary to the prime minister cabinet secretary principal scientific advisor health secretary member health NITI Aayog and other important officials were present in the meeting The meeting came a day after Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said India is still going through the second wave of Covid19 and it is not over yetHe had said 35 districts are still reporting a weekly Covid19 positivity rate of over 10 per cent while it is between five and 10 per cent in 30 districtsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever