Omicron: PM stresses on Covid-appropriate behaviour, says fight against pandemic not over

Amidst rising concerns due to the Omicron variant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the Centre would dispatch teams to states with low Covid-19 vaccination, rising cases and insufficient health infrastructure in order to help them better manage the pandemic.

Asking people to be on their guard, Modi directed the officials to accelerate the testing to ensure quick identification of cases for timely containment and treatment.

“We should be Satark (vigilant) and Saavdhan (careful). The fight against the pandemic is not over. The need for continued adherence to Covid-safe behaviour is of paramount importance even today,” he said at a high level review meeting as the number of Omicron cases rises.

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Asking the officials to keep a close watch on emerging clusters and hotspots, the Prime Minister said a good number of positive samples should promptly be sent to the INSACOG laboratories for genome sequencing with a focus on timely containment and contact tracing.

On sending teams to states with low vaccination, rising cases and insufficient health infrastructure, Modi said the central teams would work with the state administrations to boost availability of ambulances, review the institutional quarantine system and scrutinise the states’ efficacy of keeping the infected persons in home isolation besides with proper monitoring. The teams will also review the infrastructure and staff training.

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The officials briefed the Prime Minister on the emerging scenario globally driven by the new variant, with an overview of the surge in cases in countries having high vaccination coverage and presence of the Omicron variant. He was also apprised of the priority actions recommended by WHO.

A snapshot of India's Covid-19 and Omicron status including details of the states reporting more cases and districts with higher positivity and more clusters were presented to the Prime Minister. The details of Omicron cases reported in India including their travel history, vaccination status and recovery status was also shared.

Officials briefed the prime minister about the emerging scenario globally driven by the new variant, with an overview of the surge in cases in countries having high vaccination coverage and presence of the Omicron variant, it said.

He was also apprised of the technical brief and priority actions recommended by the WHO in the context of Omicron.

A snapshot of the status of Covid-19 and Omicron in the country, including states reporting a higher number of cases, districts reporting higher positivity, and higher number of clusters, was presented to the prime minister, the PMO said.

The details of the Omicron cases reported in the country, including their travel history, vaccination status, and recovered status were also presented, it said.

Modi was briefed on the various actions taken since November 25, when the first advisory of the Union Health Ministry was shared with the states.

Revised travel advisory for international passengers, review meetings with states/union territories on Covid-19 public health response measures, ramping up vaccination, installation of oxygen supply equipment, etc., was also briefed to Modi.

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