New Delhi: PM Modi on Friday presided over a high-level meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in the country. It is reported that he also reviewed the vaccination drive being conducted in the country.
The meeting comes a day after Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the second coronavirus wave in India is not yet over. According to the health secretary, 35 districts are still reporting a weekly COVID positivity rate of over 10 per cent while it is between five to 10 per cent in 30 districts.
Last month, the centre set up a panel that released it’s latest reported suggesting a third COVID-19 wave could peak around October. It has recommended upfront attention by the healthcare system as it predicts both children and adults at equal risks.
In the past few months, India has added many more hospital beds and imported over 100 oxygen carriers to raise the total to about 1,250, sources stated. The Centre, meanwhile, has approved the construction of nearly 1,600 oxygen-generation plants at hospitals, though fewer than 300 had been set up as of early last month as imports take time.
Almost all states are readying special paediatric wards as some experts warn unvaccinated children could be vulnerable to any new virus mutations. States including Madhya Pradesh are also stocking up on anti-viral drugs such as Remdesivir.
The Union health ministry today reported 34,973 new infections while the daily positivity rate stood at 1.96 per cent. Since the inception of the pandemic, 33,139, 981 individuals have contracted the novel virus in the country.