Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that people need to be more cautious and take proper precautions like masking and social distancing in view of the new Variant of Concern ‘Omicron’, while reviewing the COVID-19 and vaccination-related situation in the country.
In a comprehensive meeting which lasted for almost two hours to review the public health preparedness and vaccination related situation for Covid-19 Saturday morning, the Prime Minister was briefed about the new Variant of Concern ‘Omicron’ along with its characteristics and the impact seen in various countries.
PM Modi spoke about the need to be proactive in light of the new variant and highlighted the need for monitoring all international arrivals, their testing as per guidelines, with a specific focus on countries identified ‘at risk’.
The Prime Minister also asked officials to review plans for easing of international travel restrictions in light of the emerging new evidence.
PM Modi further directed that genome sequencing samples be collected from international travellers and community as per norms, tested through the network of labs already established under INSACOG and early warning signals identified for Covid-19 management.
In the meeting, PM Modi was apprised of the progress in vaccination and the efforts being made under the ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ campaign.
Maintaining that there is a need to increase the second dose coverage, PM Modi said that states should be sensitised on the need to ensure that all those who have got the first dose are given the second dose timely.
The meeting was attended by Rajiv Gauba, Cabinet Secretary; Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog; AKBhalla, Home Secretary; Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary (MoHFW), Secretary (Pharmaceuticals); Dr Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary (Biotechnology); Dr Balram Bhargava, DG ICMR; Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary (AYUSH); Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary (Urban Development); RS Sharma CEO NHA; Professor K Vijay Raghavan (Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India) along with other senior officials.
