NEW DELHI: Pointing out that many countries were witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to be vigilant and take precautions against the virus. He advised people on vacation or those who are planning to go on one to follow protocols like wearing masks and washing hands to ensure that their enjoyment is not adversely affected by the pandemic.
In his last ‘Mann ki Baat’ broadcast of the year, Modi said, “You are also seeing that corona is increasing in many countries of the world, so we have to take more care of precautions like masks and hand washing. If we are vigilant, then we will be safe and there will be no hindrance in our gaiety.”
The Central government has already stepped up measures against the pandemic, with the number of cases on the rise, especially in China, where the lifting of the “zero-Covid” policy has caused a spread of the virus. It has written to the states and Union territories to put in place adequate measures to deal with any spurt.
Alarm bells were sounded in Agra, where a 40-year-old man who returned from China a couple of days back, tested positive for Covid-19. He returned to Agra from China via Delhi on December 23, following which he was tested at a private lab. This is the first COVID-positive case in the district detected after November 25.
Chief medical officer Arun Srivastava said the man’s samples will be sent to Lucknow for genome sequencing. He said that the man has been isolated at his home and teams of the health department have been asked to tests his family members and those who came into contact with him.
On Sunday, India recorded 227 fresh coronavirus infections, while the number of active cases increased to 3,424 in the last 24 hours. The death toll stands at 5,30,693 with two fatalities — one reconciled by Kerala and another reported in Maharashtra during the same time span.
The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate increased to 98.80 per cent. There has been an increase of 27 cases recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The number of people who have recovered from the disease surged to 4,41,42,989, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.’
According to the Union health ministry, 220.05-crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.
In pursuance of the Central government’s directions, a mock drill will be conducted on Tuesday in all states and Union territories to ensure the readiness of health facilities, including medical oxygen generation plants.
With the ordeal faced by the country during the second Covid-19 wave in April 2021 still fresh in minds, the Centre has told states and Union territories that oxygen control rooms should be reinvigorated for prompt resolution of oxygen-related issues and challenges.
India saw a massive third wave earlier this year, and it, in a way, worked as a booster dose for a large number of people. “The government is proactive and its directions are scientific. One should be cautious considering the spurt in cases in several countries, but any new variant of Omicron is unlikely to cause any big trouble in India,” Dr Jugal Kishore, the head of the community medicine department at Safdarjung Hospital, said.
In Delhi, health secretary Amit Singla chaired a meeting with all district magistrates on Sunday morning and directed them to visit all hospitals and prepare an inventory of beds and equipment available there. From Monday onwards, senior officials will physically assess the situation at the government hospitals with regard to the availability of beds, oxygen cylinders, ventilators and other facilities. These details will be available on a Delhi government portal for public viewing starting Tuesday.
Genestrings Diagnostic Centre, which is conducting coronavirus tests at Delhi airport, said it has increased the number of lab technicians at the facility to ensure timely reporting of test results.
The company conducted around 110 coronavirus tests at the airport on Saturday, the day when the random testing of two per cent of arriving international passengers commenced amid a spurt in infections in various countries. After submitting samples for random testing, travellers can leave the airport.
In a statement on Sunday, Genestrings said that on an average, 25,000 travellers arrive at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and out of them, 500 random passengers are being tested. By the end of the first day on Saturday, Genestrings had conducted approximately 110 tests. “We have increased the manpower of lab technicians at the facility to ensure availability and timely reporting, along with being fully prepared for Covid management,” Gauri Agarwal, founder of Genestrings, said.
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