Covid situation update: The government machinery stepped up to deal with the prevailing Covid situation in India. The authorities decided to check the preparedness of the hospital to tackle the Oxygen crisis and second-wave like Covid situation. States and Union territories will undertake a mock drill across all health facilities on Tuesday.
Authorities will ensure the operational readiness of the Covid-dedicated facilities, with a specific focus on oxygen plants, ventilators, logistics and human resources, according to official sources.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will also be present at one of the hospitals to oversee the mock drill.
An advisory in this regard will be issued by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at a virtual meeting with the health ministers of the states and Union territories at 3 pm on Friday, the sources said.
The states have been asked to strengthen surveillance in accordance with the surveillance strategy already issued (health facility-based sentinel surveillance; pan-respiratory virus surveillance; community-based surveillance, sewage/wastewater surveillance).
They have also been asked to ensure the ramping up of the testing infrastructure, encourage precautionary dose uptake and ensure adherence to Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) in view of the upcoming festive season and the New Year.
They have also been advised to ramp up whole genome sequencing and ensure that a large number of samples are sent for the same.
Meanwhile, India recorded 163 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry today (December 23), the total recovery rate reached at around 98.80 per cent and total recoveries data reached to 4,41,42,608.
The total active cases of COVID-19 in India have decreased to 3,380, the health ministry data showed today. Yesterday, the registered active cases were around 3,402.
A decrease of total 22 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, the ministry said.
The total death toll in the country is now at 5,30,690. In India, the first death due to the COVID pandemic was reported in March 2020. According to the ministry's website, 220.02 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 90,96,43,076 samples have been tested up to December 22 for COVID-19. Of these 1,25,361 samples were tested on Thursday.
India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
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