ugc_banner

Central govt dispatches special team to 10 states with high active cases and low vaccination rate

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: Dec 25, 2021, 01:45 PM IST
main img
Photograph:(ANI)

Story highlights

The decision to send a special team comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with various officials to assess the Covid situation in the country

As Omicron cases continue to spread across Indian states, the central government has decided to send a multi-disciplinary team to 10 states which are reporting an increasing number of COVID-19 cases or low vaccination rates.

The central government will be deploying teams to Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Punjab.

“A decision has been taken to deploy multi-disciplinary central teams to 10 identified states, some of which are either reporting an increasing number of Omicron and COVID-19 cases or slow vaccination pace,” the Union health ministry said in a statement.

The decision to send a special team comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with various officials to assess the Covid situation in the country.

In the meeting, he directed the officials to be “alert and attentive” in view of the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

After a presentation by the health ministry, he directed the authorities to ensure heightened and close monitoring of emerging hotspots through effective surveillance of cases.

“The fight against the pandemic is not over, he (the Prime Minister) said, and the need for continued adherence to Covid safe behaviour is of paramount importance even today,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

He reviewed the status of public health response measures for containment and management of the virus cases, and also took note on the strengthening of health infrastructure including the availability of drugs, oxygen cylinders and concentrators.

The government has been on alert as India detected 415 cases of the Omicron variant.

The highest number of Omicron cases has been reported in Maharashtra (108), followed by Delhi (79), Gujarat (43), Telangana (38), Kerala (37), Tamil Nadu (34) and Karnataka (31).

(With inputs from agencies)