Two-day nationwide mock drill from tomorrow to assess hospital preparedness amid rising Covid cases

As India continues to battle the second wave of COVID-19, a nationwide mock drill has been scheduled for April 10 and 11 to assess the readiness of public and private hospitals. The drill will provide a comprehensive evaluation of hospital preparedness, which is vital to ensure timely and effective healthcare for patients, as reported by PTI. Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Health Minister, is scheduled to oversee the drill at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jhajjar on April 10.

During a review meeting on April 7, Mandaviya, the Union Health Minister, urged state health ministers to actively participate in the mock drills and visit hospitals to oversee them. He advised them to work in tandem with district administrations and health officials to review their preparedness on April 8 and 9. In the virtual meeting, attended by state health ministers, principals and additional chief secretaries, Mandaviya highlighted the importance of identifying emergency hotspots by closely monitoring the trends of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) cases. He also stressed the need to increase testing and vaccination drives and to ensure that hospital infrastructure is adequately equipped to deal with the current situation.

Mandaviya also stressed the significance of augmenting genome sequencing and ramping up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples, while raising awareness about adhering to Covid-appropriate behaviour. States and union territories were also informed that the World Health Organization (WHO) is closely monitoring a variant of interest (VOI), XBB.1.5, along with six other variants (BQ.1, BA.2.75, CH.1.1, XBB, XBF, and XBB.1.16).

Despite Omicron and its sub-lineages remaining the dominant variants, the majority of assigned variants have minimal transmissibility, disease severity, or immune escape. Notably, the prevalence of XBB.1.16 increased from 21.6 per cent in February to 35.8 per cent in March. However, there is no evidence of an increase in hospitalization or mortality.

In the meeting, it was noted that 23 states and union territories had an average of tests per million below the national average. Mandaviya emphasized that the proven strategy of 'Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate' and adherence to Covid-Appropriate Behavior remains crucial for Covid management. Additionally, states and union territories were urged to raise their testing rate from 100 tests per million as of the week ending April 7 and increase the proportion of RT-PCR in tests.

(With Agency inputs)