PM Modi advises precaution amid Covid spike
At the meeting, the Prime Minister suggested ways to tackle the Covid situation and advised precaution. He also advised maintenance of vigil. Further, PM Modi emphasised the need to enhance lab surveillance and testing of all Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases.
PM Modi suggested that genome sequencing should be ramped up and said that mock drills should be organised in hospitals to ensure preparedness. The Prime Minister advised that people should follow respiratory hygiene and adherence to Covid appropriate behavior as cases continue to rise in the country and the H3N2 scare looming large.
PM's advise amid Covid spike
- Maintain vigil
- Ensure precaution
- Enhance lab surveillance
- Test all Severe Acute Respiratory Illness case
- Ramp up genome sequencing
- Organise mock drills in hospitals
- Follow respiratory hygiene
- Adhere to Covid appropriate behavior
The meeting comes two days after the Center held a meeting to review Covid and H3N2 situation in the country. Meanwhile, India today logged 1,134 new coronavirus cases, while the active cases rose to 7,026, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on March 22. The number of fatalities due to the viral disease climbed to 5,30,813 with five deaths with one each reported by Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra and one reconciled by Kerala.
Revised Covid guidelines
On March 19, the health ministry had issued revised guidelines for Covid-19 in the wake of the surge in cases.
"Antibiotics should not be used unless there is clinical suspicion of bacterial infection. The possibility of coinfection of Covid-19 with other endemic infections must be considered. Systemic corticosteroids are not indicated in mild disease," revised guidelines said.
The revise rules highlighted the need to maintain physical distancing and use masks. "Seek immediate medical attention if difficulty breathing, high-grade fever/severe cough, particularly if lasting for more than 5 days. A low threshold is to be kept for those with any of the high-risk features," the guidelines read.
