Union Health Minister to hold Covid review meet with 9 states and UTs today

Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union health minister, will meet with the health ministers of nine states and union territories (UTs) on Tuesday to discuss the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) situation. The virtual engagement will begin at 10.30 a.m., according to news agency ANI.

The states and UTs which will take part in the virtual interaction are Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Ladakh, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh.

In an earlier interaction with states and UTs, Mandaviya advised them to keep a tab on infrastructural matters regarding medical oxygen. He also asked them to establish teleconsultation hubs in every district and focus on widespread awareness regarding available infrastructure and healthcare services.

Mandaviya has been holding such meetings to review the Covid-19 situation in various parts of the country. Some of these meetings were held with a particular group of states where the positivity rate and the spread of the infection were higher than other parts of the country.

India has witnessed a surge in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the past few weeks, especially after the emergence of the new Omicron variant. The highly-mutated strain is believed to be more resistant to vaccines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too reviewed the pandemic situation in the country earlier this month where he directed officials to ensure adequate healthcare infrastructure at the district level and accelerate the vaccination drive for adolescents in mission mode.

The Prime Minister also said that intensive containment and active surveillance should continue in clusters reporting higher cases and required technical support be provided to states which are reporting higher cases.

Meanwhile, India reported 3,06,064 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, nearly 28,000 less than the day before. The Union health ministry said that the positivity rate in the country has reached 20 per cent.