India gets ready to tackle Covid

New Delhi: States and Union territories will undertake a mock drill across all health facilities on Tuesday to ensure the operational readiness of the Covid-dedicated facilities, with a specific focus on oxygen plants, ventilators, logistics and human resources, according to official sources.

An advisory in this regard was issued by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at a virtual meeting with the health ministers of the states and Union territories on Friday, the sources said. The states have been asked to strengthen surveillance in accordance with the surveillance strategy already issued (health facility-based sentinel surveillance; pan-respiratory virus surveillance; community-based surveillance, sewage/wastewater surveillance).

They have also been asked to ensure the ramping up of the testing infrastructure, encourage precautionary dose uptake and ensure adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) in view of the upcoming festive season and the New Year. They have also been advised to ramp up whole genome sequencing and ensure that a large number of samples are sent for the same.