E-Paper
Health minister reviews Covid situation in southern states
The minister urged the regions to utilise before March 31 funds released by the Centre as part of the emergency Covid relief package, which is meant to help states strengthen their health infrastructure.
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday held a virtual meeting with officials from the southern states and three union territories to review the public health measures for Covid-19 and the progress of the vaccination campaign, according to a statement.
The minister urged the regions to utilise before March 31 funds released by the Centre as part of the emergency Covid relief package, which is meant to help states strengthen their health infrastructure. The health minister also urged the states to provide relevant data on time so that sturdy and efficient Covid policies can be drawn up.
“It is important to have a sturdy and resilient health infrastructure and the ECRP-II package under which the funds have been provided to states and UTS needs to be utilised before 31st March, 2022… While some states have expedited effective utilisation of the approved funds for health infra creation, other states may also review the physical and financial progress under ECRP-II and expedite the progress,” said Mandaviya in a statement.
The states and union territories that participated in the review were Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.
The health minister reiterated that the five-fold strategy of ‘Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and Adherence to COVID Appropriate Behaviour’ was key for Covid management.
States and UTs were advised to keep a close watch on emerging clusters and hotspots; and states with a lower share of RTPCR in Covid-19 testing were advised to review the testing ratio. Adequate and timely testing will help in prompt identification of the infected cases and prevention of a sudden surge, he said.
The states were also asked to focus on expediting vaccination coverage.
The directive came at a time when the third nationwide wave of Covid-19 has been raging, although there are now signs that it may be levelling off in some regions. India recorded 233,779 new cases on Friday, 6.8% down from the 250,762 cases recorded a day before, HT’s tally of cases showed.
