With India’s Omicron tally at 236, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a review meeting on Thursday, 23 December, on the COVID-19 situation in the country and the preparedness of health systems.
During the meeting, PM Modi said, "In view of the new variant of Omicron, we should be 'satark' (vigilant) and 'saavdhan' (cautious)." The fight against the pandemic is not over, he said, underscoring that the need for COVID-safe behaviour is still of paramount importance.
Addressing concerns over the rising cases, Modi assured that the Government is alert and aware of the evolving situation.
He further added that the governmnet is taking "proactive action, and supporting States in their efforts of containment and management under the ‘Whole of Government’ approach."
Highlighting that the focus should be on "prompt, effective contact tracing, ramping up testing, accelerating vaccination and boosting health infrastructure", Modi announced that the Centre will send teams to states with low vaccination rates, rising COVID cases, and insufficient health infra to assist them.
Modi also called for the effective use of "IT tools for tele-medicine and tele-consultation".
Keeping in mind the oxygen shortage during the second wave, PM Modi also said, "Important for states to ensure oxygen supply equipment are installed, fully functional."
Meanwhile, out of the 236 cases, 104 people have recovered or migrated, as per the Union health ministry data.
The Centre, during a review of COVID-19 status and preparedness on Thursday, told states and Union Territories (UTs) to “observe all precautions” and not let their “guard down."
Modi's meeting comes days after the health ministry in a letter to the states had noted that the newly emerged Omicron variant is three times more contagious than the Delta variant, which has hitherto been dominant.
There have also been demands for the government to allow booster doses of vaccines to be administered to those already fully inoculated against COVID-19, as has been done by several countries, in order to curb the spread of Omicron.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)