Guwahati: A high-level virtual meeting to examine the COVID-19 situation and its connected issues in the nation was presided over by the prime minister on Thursday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Health Miniter Mansukh Mandaviya and NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Parameswaran Iyer were among others who participated in the meeting.
The gathering takes place the day after a high-level meeting with authorities in which Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya evaluated the coronavirus situation. He recommended people to practise COVID-appropriate behaviour and receive the virus vaccine. He reminded the officials that COVID-19 is still ongoing and urged them to beef up monitoring and be completely prepared.
Four cases of the BF.7 Omicron sub-variant, which is causing the current outbreak of illnesses in China, were reported from India in the past six months.
According to reports, there are currently 10 different Covid-19 types in the nation, with BF.7 being the newest.
The government has begun random RT-PCR sampling among travellers arriving at international airports in the country, according to Health Minister Mandaviya earlier in the day. This is in response to the recent spike in coronavirus infections in several nations, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, and the United States.
“We have also started the random RT-PCR sampling among passengers arriving at International airports in the country. We are committed to tackling the pandemic and are taking appropriate steps,” Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in his statement in the Lok Sabha while advising the States to make sure that people wear masks, use sanitizers and maintain social distancing even during the festive and the New Year season.
He also urged the states to raise awareness about the need for coronavirus preventative dosages.
“We are keeping an eye on the global Covid situation and are taking steps accordingly. The States are advised to increase genome-sequencing to timely identify the new variant of Covid-19,” Mandaviya added.
He further said that the health department has been proactive in managing the Covid pandemic. The Centre has also provided financial assistance to States in the fight against the pandemic, he added.
“So far, 220 crore Covid vaccine shots have been given,” the Health Minister said. Mandaviya claimed that the number of Covid cases is depleting in India despite its surge across the world.
“From the last few days, Covid cases have been rising in the world but in India, the cases are depleting. We are seeing rising Covid cases and deaths due to it in China,” he said.
Mandaviya has already given the go-ahead for the officials to fully prepare and strengthen the surveillance system for whole genome sequencing of positive case samples in order to track the variants through the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network in order to ensure the prompt detection of any newer variants circulating in the nation.
Covid instances have increased dramatically in China, Japan, South Korea, France, and the US. The novel Omicron sub-variant BF.7, which has also been found in four Indian states, is being held responsible for the increase.