Centre asks states, UTs to prepare for possible Omicron surge

The Centre on Thursday asked states and Union Territories to ensure availability of stocks of eight drugs used for the treatment of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan held a review meeting with state and UT officials and urged them to ensure availability of medicines.

The meeting was held in the wake of the detection of a number cases of Omicron in India. Speaking to state health secretaries and National Health Mission directors via video conference, Bhushan said all health facilities should have functional ventilators, PSA (pressure swing adsorption) plants and oxygen concentrators.

A statement issued by the health ministry said states were informed that many ventilators supplied by the Centre are still lying unpacked and unused at some hospitals, with consumables not being procured and made available by the states.

“This needs to be reviewed immediately to ensure that all PSA oxygen plants, Oxygen concentrators and ventilators are installed and are functioning,” it added.

Also read: ‘We can prevent Omicron becoming a global crisis,’ WHO warns

The five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccinate-adherence to COVID behaviour was highlighted as the mainstay of public health response strategy for effective and timely control and management of the pandemic.

The states and UTs were told to enhance testing and focus on surveillance to ensure identification of cases for isolation and clinical management. They were also asked to ensure the availability of RT-PCR testing facilities in all districts, the ministry said in a statement.

“Districts reporting higher case positivity were alerted to monitor the case trajectory regularly, and to promptly dispatch positive samples to the mapped INSACOG labs for genomic sequencing,” it said.