The Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiradtiya Scindia, at a press conference said on Friday, “The focus of our government is to transform health care into holistic health care. Following the PM’s vision of ‘One Nation, One Health’, we collectively handled COVID. 220 crore doses of vaccine have been administered till this Monday.”
“Drones are being used for the delivery of blood, vaccines, and medicine in remote areas. In 2014, there were only 6 AIIMS, and today we have 22 AIIMS in the country. MBBS seats have been increased by 90 percent,” he further added.
“Health Ministry is keeping a watch on it. PM Modi yesterday chaired a high-level meeting with top officials regarding preparedness for COVID. Today Union health minister will hold a meeting with health ministers of the states,” he said.
Follow covid appropriate behaviour- PM Modi
The PM’s assertions came amid the COVID-19 situation in the country. In the meeting,, he focused on the preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, status of the vaccination campaign, and the emergence of new variants and their public health implications.
Prime Minister Modi urged everyone to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks in crowded public places, at all times, especially in view of the upcoming festive season, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
He also urged that precaution dose may be encouraged especially for vulnerable and elderly groups.
During the meeting, Modi directed officials to ramp up testing and also genomic sequencing efforts.
States have been asked to share a larger number of samples with the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (lGSLs) for genome sequencing on a daily basis, the PMO said.
This will support the timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and facilitate undertaking the requisite public health measures, it said.
Prime Minister Modi cautioned against complacency and advised strict vigil.
He reiterated that COVID is not over yet and directed officials to strengthen the ongoing surveillance measures, especially at international airports, the statement said.
He stressed the need to ensure that the entire COVID infrastructure at all levels is maintained at a high level of preparedness in terms of equipment, processes and human resources.
