New Delhi: On Thursday (December 22), Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting to assess the COVID-19 situation in the country, preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, status of the vaccination campaign and the emergence of new COVID-19 variants and their public health implications. The review meeting was called after four new COVID-19 cases of Omicron sub-variant BF.7, which is said to be the strain driving China’s current Covid wave, were reported in the country.
PM @narendramodi chairs high-level meeting to review #COVID19 situation and preparedness in the country, amidst rising cases worldwide #Unite2FightCorona #MaskUpIndia pic.twitter.com/DzwbvVA8eA
— PIB India (@PIB_India) December 22, 2022
As per the statement from Prime Minister’s office, in a high-level review meeting PM Modi was briefed about India’s current COVID-19 situation. He was informed that the country has been witnessing a steady decline in cases with average daily cases falling to 153 and weekly positivity down to 0.14 per cent in the week ending December 22. However, since the last six weeks, 5.9 lakh daily average cases have been reported globally.
5 Things PM Modi Said At COVID-19 Review Meeting:
- Strengthen surveillance: PM cautioned against complacency and advised strict vigil. He reiterated that Covid is not over yet and directed officials to strengthen the ongoing surveillance measures, especially at international airports.
- Prepare Covid infrastructure: PM called to ensure that the entire Covid infrastructure at all levels is maintained in terms of equipment, processes and human resources. He advised states to audit Covid specific facilities to ensure the operational readiness of Hospital Infrastructure, including Oxygen Cylinders, PSA plants, ventilators and human resources. Additionally, PM advised to regularly monitor the availability and prices of essential medicines.
- Ramp up testing and genome sequencing: States have been asked to share a larger number of samples with the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (lGSLs) for Genome Sequencing on a daily basis.
- Follow Covid-appropriate behavior: PM urged everyone to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour at all times – wearing a face mask in public places, maintaining social distance and washing hands with soap at regular intervals – especially in view of the upcoming festive season.
- Take COVID precautionary dose: Prime Minister urged that that precaution dose may be encouraged especially for vulnerable and elderly groups.
PM Modi once again lauded the Corona warriors, and frontline healthcare workers for their selfless and relentless service to the nation in times of need.
Also Read: India On Alert Mode Amid Surge In COVID-19 Infections In Other Countries
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
