New Delhi, Dec. 23 (IANS) Given the recent rise of covid-19 in many countries, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandavya on Friday reviewed public preparedness for covid-19 control and progress on covid-19 vaccination with state fitness ministers.
The Minister of Health referred to the Prime Minister’s message from the high-level review assembly held and urged states to be alert and prepare for Covid-19 control.
“The Center and the states want to work together and in a spirit of collaboration, as has been done in previous outbreaks of Covid-19 prevention and control,” Mandaviya told state health ministers.
Union Minister of State for Health, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar and Dr. V. K. Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog also provide at the virtual meeting.
Mandaviya suggested to states the surveillance formula for total genome sequencing of samples from positive cases to track variants through the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network to ensure immediate detection of new variants, if any, circulating in the country.
Emphasis will be placed on sentinel surveillance in fitness facilities; panrespiratory virus surveillance; network monitoring; and sewer/wastewater monitoring.
Mandaviya that regardless of the new variants of Covid, “Test-Track-Treat-Vaccine
This would cause appropriate public health measures to be taken, he said.
States/UTs were also asked to increase the testing rate from the current rate of 79 tests per million, starting the week ending Dec. 22. They were also asked to increase the constant percentage of RT-PCR in the tests.
The Minister of Health urged States/UTs to increase vaccination of the entire eligible population, especially the elderly and population groups.
He warned that he opposes the dissemination of erroneous data by ensuring the dissemination of real and correct data in a timely manner.
Looking ahead to the next festive season, he stressed the importance of citizen awareness campaigns related to compliance with appropriate behavior against Covid.
Mandaviya called on state health ministers to monitor and review the readiness of all infrastructure and ensure there is a good enough inventory of essential medicines.
Pondicherry Prime Minister N. Rangaswamy; Manik Saha, Chief Minister and Minister of Health of Tripura; Manoj Sinha, Deputy Governor of Jammu and Kashmir; Parsadi Lal Meena, Minister of Health (Rajasthan); Dhan Singh Rawat, Minister of Health (Uttarakhand); Keshab Mahanta, Minister of Health (Assam); K Sudhakar, Minister of Health (Karnataka); Banna Gupta, Minister of Health (Jharkhand); Prabhuram Choudhury, Minister of Health (Madhya Pradesh); S Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Minister of Health (Punjab); TS Singh Deo, Minister of Health (Chhattisgarh); Sapam Ranjan Singh, Minister of Health (Manipur); Anil Vij, Minister of Health (Haryana); Thiru Ma Subramanian, Minister of Health (Tamil Nadu); Vidadala Rajini, Minister of Health (Andhra Pradesh); Veena George, Minister of Health (Kerala); Chandrima Bhattacharya, Minister of Health (West Bengal) and Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister (Delhi) joined the high-level assembly here on Friday.
–IANOS
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