Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday reviewed public health preparedness in a meeting with state health ministers in view of rising Covid-19 cases in several countries, especially China. He advised states to be on the alert and keep all preparedness for coronavirus management. He said “test-track-treat-vaccinate and adherence to Covid-appropriate behavior continue to remain the tested strategy for the Covid management.
He also advised states to remain alert ahead of upcoming festivities like Christmas and New Year celebrations. Besides, hospitals have been advised to conduct “dry runs” in order to ensure logistics like bed availability, and re-orientation of healthcare workers if need be.
In an official release, the Union Health Ministry said that the Centre and states need to work in tandem just like in previous Covid-19 surges. States have also been advised to strengthen surveillance systems, ramp up testing, and ensure the readiness of hospital infrastructure.
The health ministry also released a set of guidelines for states. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, in a letter, listed out measures for states to follow. Here’s all you need to know:
- States have been asked to ensure adequate testing in all the districts as per Covid testing guidelines maintaining the recommended share of RT-PCR and antigen tests.
- States will have to ensure higher samples for whole genome sequencing amongst positive samples of Covid 19 in the community. This has to be done in order to enable the timely detection of new variants if any.
- Relevant stakeholders like event organizers, business owners, market associations, etc, should be asked to avoid overcrowding, ensure adequate ventilation, and wearing of masks at all times.
- Hospitals need to conduct ‘dry runs’ and ensure bed availability, and logistical requirements as well as the need for re-orientation of healthcare workers in the clinical management of Covid 19.
- All Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in all health facilities will be looked into on a regular basis including in the IHIP portal. This is important for detecting the early rising trend of cases. These cases may also be tested for Covid-19.
Earlier in the day, official sources said that Bharat Biotech’s intranasal Covid vaccine has been approved by the health ministry as a booster dose for those aged 18 years and above and is likely to be introduced on the Co-WIN platform Friday evening. The needle-free vaccine will be available at private hospitals as of now and can be administered as a precaution dose to adults who have been vaccinated with two doses of either Covishield or Covaxin.
It is likely to be rolled out in the national Covid vaccination programme soon, they said. The nasal vaccine — BBV154 — had received approval of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) in November for restricted use in an emergency situation for those above 18 years as a heterologous booster dose.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation today said that airlines’ crew members will have to bring international arriving passengers to the testing facility at the airport. The government has decided to subject 2 per cent of the passengers arriving on international flights to random coronavirus test starting from Saturday morning.
In a communication on Friday, the ministry said that airlines are required to direct their crew members to lead and bring identified 2 per cent of international arriving passengers to the testing facility at the airport. “The airport operators would create necessary infrastructure to facilitate random testing of international arriving passengers at their respective airports,” the communication said.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned against complacency, called for strict vigil and directed that the ongoing surveillance measures, especially at international airports, be strengthened. “Covid is not over yet,” Modi reiterated at a high-level Covid review meeting and urged people to wear masks in crowded places.
(with inputs from PTI)
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