With Covid-19 cases on the rise in the National Capital Region, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the administration in Delhi and its neighbouring districts to ramp up health infrastructure, maintain buffer stocks of essential drugs and ensure that oxygen supply equipment while stressing on the need for a unified strategy to tackle the pandemic.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla reviewed the situation in Delhi-NCR on Thursday and insisted on the need for ramping up of testing in all districts of Delhi-NCR where the number of tests is low.
He told the meeting attended by top officials of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments and district administrations in Delhi-NCR that Omicron variant being highly transmissible and no stone should be left unturned to deal with any surge in cases.
Immediate steps should be taken to further strengthen the monitoring and containment mechanism. The state and the local administration should strictly enforce the norms of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, Bhalla said.
He also stressed that the health infrastructure in all the districts of Delhi-NCR should be immediately strengthened to deal with any enhanced requirement. It should be ensured that oxygen supply equipment is fully functional and buffer stocks of essential drugs are maintained, he said, keeping in mind the situation during the second wave of the pandemic last year.
The meeting was attended by Niti Ayog Member (Health) V K Paul, senior officers of the central government and chief secretaries and additional chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi as well as officials from the district administrations of Delhi and neighbouring areas.
Keeping in view the close knit urban structure of the NCR, an official statement said, the Home Secretary emphasised that it is necessary for all concerned authorities in Delhi and the NCR to come together to tackle the virus. There is a need to have a unified strategy in the Delhi-NCR Region to tackle the pandemic, he said.
"All measures and mechanisms to contain and curb the spread of the virus must be reinvigorated," he said.
Check out DH's latest videos
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks