NEW DELHI: As COVID cases rise in the country, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Wednesday that there is a need for panic but called on states and union territories to be vigilant and prepare for hospital readiness drills, increased surveillance and power exercises. . communicate with people.
Mandaviya, who chaired a high-level review assembly on COVID with state fitness ministers to assess the existing scenario and hospitals’ readiness to combat the scenario, under pressure that fitness is not a political domain and that the Union’s fitness minister is available. for any support.
The review assembly took a position on the same day that the ministry showed 21 cases of the new JN. 1 variant of the coronavirus, which is causing a resurgence in many countries, the United States, China and Singapore.
While Goa reported 19 cases of the JN. 1 variant, which was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “variant of interest” after the strain surged worldwide, Maharashtra and Kerala recorded one case each, according to ministry officials.
According to data from the Union Ministry of Health, three deaths have been reported in Kerala. The country has recorded 614 Covid cases, totalling more than 500 in Kerala alone, in the last 24 hours, since May 20 this year, when 756 cases were recorded. It was reported.
During his virtual meeting with state health ministers, which was also attended by Kerala Health Minister Veena Geroge, Mandaviya called for close coordination between the center and states to ensure effective COVID management.
Reminding states that COVID is still over, he said, states want to monitor new evidence of COVID cases, symptoms and severity to plan an appropriate public response.
“Let’s adopt simulated trainings once every three months at the central and state levels and percentage the most productive practices,” he said, while urging all states and UTs to ensure preventative measures are taken, given the bloody situations of the winter season. and the upcoming climate festival season.
VK Paul, a member of NITI Ayog, said that in the past two weeks there have been 16 reported deaths of other people with severe comorbidities. “Currently, there are about 2,300 active cases of COVID-19 in the country. The increase is due to the Covid variant JN. 1. There’s no need to panic,” he said.
At the meeting, Union Health Ministry Secretary Sudhansh Pant mentioned global and national COVID and said that cases in India are particularly lower than global figures.
But over the past two weeks, the number of active cases has risen sharply, from Dec. 6 to 614 on Wednesday.
Of that total, 92. 8 percent of cases are home isolation cases, indicating mild illness, and no increase in hospitalization rates due to Covid has been observed, he said.
Hospitalization cases are due to other medical issues, while Covid is a fortuitous finding, he said, adding that an increase in the positivity rate has been reported in Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Karnataka.
He also said the JN. 1 variant is under intense clinical scrutiny but is an immediate concern.
No clustering of cases due to the JN. 1 variant has been observed in India. All cases were found to be mild and patients recovered from any complications, Pant said.
In addition, the ministry said, states and UTs have been asked to step up testing and forward a large number of samples from positive cases of COVID-19 and pneumonia-like illnesses to INSACOG’s Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSL) on the basis, for sequencing, follow-up new variants, if applicable.
The ministry issued a statement on Monday urging all states/UTs to be vigilant and take proactive measures to combat COVID-19. Many states, including Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand, have announced security measures.
Karnataka, which is the only state to announce a mask mandate on Wednesday, especially for people 60 and older, said schools should monitor temperatures, disinfect school spaces and ask students to wear masks.
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