Finance
The Odisha government today urged people to voluntarily adhere to Covid appropriate behavior such as mask wearing, frequent hand washing, self-isolation for symptomatic persons, and avoid spitting in public places, in the wake of a surge in Covid cases over the last two weeks in countries such as Japan, Korea, the United States, France, Brazil, Germany, and China.
Shalini Pandit, Commissioner-cum-Secretary Health & Family Welfare department, told the press after a high-level review meeting on Covid-19 preparedness in the state, that the situation in the state has remained stable with less than 15 cases per day since November this year, and on most days it is less than 10 cases.
Pandit stated that hospitalization is currently nil in the state, with a caseload of 54 active cases as of date.
She stated, citing experts, that the current variants circulating in India for the last few months are all sub-variants of Omicron and have not resulted in an increase in cases or hospitalization.
She went on to say, citing experts, that while the new Omicron variants are associated with high transmissibility, there is no evidence that they can cause disease severity or evade vaccine-infused immunity in the country.
According to the Health Secretary, the current testing level in the state is 134 tests per million, which is significantly higher than the national level of 109 per million.
Also, Odisha is testing 1552 samples to get one positive, compared to India’s figure of 589 tests for one positive, according to the Health Secretary, who added that in the above scenario, the current testing and surveillance strategy for the state has to continue as the ICMR guideline and added that it has been decided to conduct Whole Genome Sequencing (WSG) of all positive samples.
She stated that the surveillance at airports and seaports will be guided by the Gol’s advisory/guidelines issued from time to time.
Pandit stated that as part of the INSACOG consortium, ILS, Bhubaneswar, and RMRC, Bhubaneswar are currently conducting Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) for Covid positive cases.
Meanwhile, a WGS facility has been established at SCB Medical College & Hospital, and the government will soon apply for affiliation with INSACOG, she said.
The Health Secretary stated that during the review meeting, it was discovered that the state’s hospitals and laboratories had adequate stock of drugs and consumables.
Pandit stated that PSA plants have been established in the state to address the issue of oxygen availability in all districts, and also Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) plants have been set up in bigger districts.
“Therefore we are very secure in oxygen situation,” she added.
All district headquarters hospitals, including Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar, RGH in Rourkela, and Medical College and Hospitals, have been directed to conduct uniform mock drills on December 27 to ensure operational readiness for Covid management, with a particular focus on oxygen plants, ventilators, logistics, and human resources.
Furthermore, in light of the upcoming Hockey World Cup, the review meeting decided that all UPHCs and UCHCs in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, and Rourkela will have walk-in testing facilities for RAT and Swab collection for RT-PCR for Covid-19.
Source:OCN
