During a high-level meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi urged state representatives to enhance preparedness for the Omicron variant as India records a rise in COVID-19 infections, with over 300 cases of the new variant.
The meeting saw the participation of several senior health officials, such as Dr VK Paul from NITI Aayog, the government’s public policy think-tank, AK Bhalla, the Home Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and secretaries of the departments of AYUSH, Urban Development, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotechnology.
During the meeting, Modi asserted that the fight to combat the virus continues and that India should remain satark (alert) and saavdhaan (vigilant), and continue to adhere to the safety protocols. Addressing the officials, the PM called for centre-state coordination and stressed on the importance of a “collaborative and cooperative” fight against the Omicron variant. To this end, he called for expedited identification and testing. He also advocated for genome sequencing, alongside developing IT tools such as telemedicine and teleconsultation.
To avert an unmanageable public health disaster, Modi called on officials to evaluate preparedness at district levels and ensure the availability of oxygen, drugs, ventilators, PSA plants, and ICUs. He further urged states to review their healthcare infrastructure, including training and capacity building of human resources, availability of ambulances, readiness to operationalise COVID-19 facilities for institutional quarantine, and effective monitoring of individuals in home isolation.
Furthermore, the PM underscored the importance of vaccines and called on state officials to ensure that eligible citizens are fully vaccinated. He reiterated the advice given by the World Health Organisation that unvaccinated individuals and regions with lower vaccination coverage are more vulnerable to the variant.
With over 300 cases, the variant has been reported across 16 states and union territories. However, over 104 of these patients have fully recovered. In fact, the recovery rate stands at 98.4%, which is the highest since March 2020. Some public health experts have suggested that while the Omicron variant is more transmissible, it is causing less serious symptoms, although this may be due to the fact that vaccination levels are constantly rising.
Nevertheless, there continues to be concern about a spike in cases, specifically in light of increased gatherings in public spaces and markets. On Thursday, India reported 6,650 new infections, taking the total number of active cases to 77,516, and raising concerns about another devastating COVID-19 wave.
Furthermore, a new study conducted by the Centre for Disease, Dynamics, Economics, and Policy, an American research institute, said that the death toll during the previous waves was likely severely undercounted. Researchers from both the United States and India concluded that the COVID-19 death toll in India could be over six million, around 12 times higher than the government’s tally of 478,007.