‘Need to be alert, not panic’: Mandaviya after meeting with state ministers on Covid

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said while India “needs to be on alert, there is no need to panic” as he held a meeting with the state health ministers to review the pandemic situation in the country in the light of China’s recent surge.

The health minister advised all states and union territories to “keep all preparedness for Covid-19 management”.

“Emphasised on the need to be alert in COVID-19 review meeting with State Health Ministers. There is no need to panic. We have 3 years of experience in pandemic management. The Centre Govt will provide all the support to combat COVID-19. We will take action as per the needs,” Mandaviya wrote on Twitter.

He added, “Also, stressed on combating the pandemic with a pre-emptive & proactive approach by increasing testing, genome sequencing and following COVID-appropriate behaviour.”

In a notification, the health ministry said considering the upcoming festive season and New Year celebrations, there is a need to put in place requisite public health measures and arrangements to minimise the risk of Covid spread. The Centre advised states to ensure adequate testing in all districts per Covid-19 testing guidelines and increase genome sequencing to “enable timely detection of new variants”. It also urged to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, create community awareness, strengthen the surveillance system, ramp up testing and ensure the readiness of hospital infrastructure.

According to the health ministry, states must ensure a special focus on increasing the coverage of the booster dose.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also cautioned against complacency and said Covid-19 is not over yet – during a high-level meeting to review the government’s preparedness to tackle the virus. He directed officials to strengthen the ongoing surveillance measures, especially at international airports.