Covid-19 review meeting: Centre pulls up socks, Mansukh Mandaviya directs officials to strengthen surveillance

After a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases in some parts of the world, the Indian government on Wednesday reviewed the situation in the country. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the COVID-19 situation in the country and directed officials to be alert and strengthen surveillance, PTI reported. This comes amid the reports of rise in coronavirus cases globally. “COVID is not over yet. I have directed all concerned to be alert and strengthen surveillance. We are prepared to manage any situation,” Mandaviya said in a tweet.

Amid the sudden rise of cases in Japan, the United States of America, Korea, Brazil and China, the Health Ministry on Tuesday urged all states and Union territories to ramp up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples of Covid to keep track of emerging variants. According to the news agency, the Centre has said that such an exercise will help in timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate undertaking of requisite public health measures.

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The review meeting saw the attendance of the secretaries of health, department of pharmaceuticals, department of biotechnology, Ayush, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Rajiv Bahl, Member (Health) of NITI Aayog Dr V K Paul and National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) Chairman Dr N K Arora, among other officials.

After the meeting, Dr Paul, Member-Health, NITI Aayog told the reporters that people must start using a mask if they are in a crowded space, indoors or outdoors. “This is all the more important for people with comorbidities or are of higher age,” he added, ANI reported.

35 lakh weekly cases reported globally

Public health challenge of COVID-19 still persists around the world with around 35 lakh cases reported weekly, PTI quoted Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan as saying. In India, Delhi has recorded 20,07,097 Covid cases and 26,519 deaths since the pandemic started in early 2020.

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According to media reports quoting Johns Hopkins University, the number of Covid-19 cases registered in the US since the start of the pandemic in early 2020 exceeded a staggering 100 million. The virus has also claimed the lives of 1,088,236 people in the US, it added.