'Highest ever surge in world': Centre asks states to set up makeshift hospitals amid Omicron surge
The health infrastructure may soon start getting stressed as there is a sudden increase in cases, the Centre said asking the states to monitor their oxygen availability.
The Centre on Saturday wrote to all states and Union territories asking them to take immediate stock of their healthcare infrastructure. Apart from adding more beds to hospitals, ramping up health care facilities, the states have been asked to check their oxygen availability, on a note of caution. The world is currently reporting the highest ever surge in Covid-19 cases, secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote in his letter. "In the context of the spread of Variant of Concern Omicron, the world is currently reporting the highest ever surge in Covid-19 cases. In India, the case trajectory is also showcasing an upward trend with 16,764 cases reported on December 31, the highest ever single-day rise in the past 70 days. Many developed nations in Europe and the Americas are reporting a significant rise in new cases in the past few weeks, which indicates high transmissibility of the virus," the secretary added.
India's Omicron tally crosses 1,400-mark, 5 states have more than 100 cases
The health infrastructure may soon start getting stressed as there is a sudden increase in cases, the Centre said.
In view of this, the Centre has asked the states to create makeshift hospitals. States may also utilise hotel accommodations for patients having mild to moderate symptoms, as it was done during the earlier surges in some states, it said.
To monitor patients under home isolation, the states should constitute special teams, call centres, control rooms. A clear focus on rural areas and pediatric cases must also be maintained, the letter said.
"States need to regularly review the availability of required logistics, oxygen availability and buffer stick of drugs across all health facilities in the state," the Centre said.
The alert comes amid a series of letters the Centre has recently written to the states and the UTs in view of the sudden surge, which is being seen as the beginning of a fresh wave in the country.
On December 31, the Centre asked all states to test all fever, body ache cases for Covid and treat them for Covid, unless the test results prove otherwise.
On the very first day of 2022, India reported 22,775 new Covid-19 cases and 406 deaths. The number of Omicron infections stands at 1,431, as on Saturday morning.
Omicron, the newest variant of SARS-CoV-2, is believed to be spreading very fast though the severity is not worrying as most Omicron patients are asymptomatic and are recovering without being hospitalised. But if patients are not isolated properly, there is an increased risk of transmission among other family members.
