In the face of the increasing COVID-19 cases and flu cases in the country Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a meeting at a high level to assess the state and preparedness for public health response.
He urged caution and vigilance in the meeting. He stressed the importance of enhancing lab surveillance and testing for all cases of Severe Respiratory Insufficiency (SARI). He asked that the sequencing of genomes be increased for the collected samples. The Prime Minister asked officials from the Health Ministry to run mock drills at hospitals to gauge their readiness for an emergency.
According to reports, India registered 1,134 new cases Wednesday. This was the second time this month that the total reached 1000.
PM Modi has been informed that there is a slight rise in the COVID casestrajectory. The average daily cases are over 888, and the weekly positivity rate was 0.98 as of March 22. He was also told about the increasing cases of H1N1 in the last few months.
In the meeting, the action plan taken to implement the directives given by the prime minister during the Covid-19 review on December 22, 2020 was also reviewed and discussed.
According to reports, the Prime minister was informed that availability and prices for 20 main COVID medications, 12 other medicines, eight buffer drugs, and one influenza drug were being monitored.
According to the Health Ministry, there have been five new deaths reported. One death was reported each by Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. Kerala also reported one death.
Experts have stated that the symptoms of H3N2and COVID may be similar, as both diseases can cause fever, cough, and breathlessness. According to reports, H3N2 can cause serious illness for patients who are immunocompromised, elderly or children.
