India News | Centre Asks States, UTs to Review Health Infra Preparedness Amid Rise in Covid Cases
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Centre on Tuesday asked states and Union territories to review infrastructure preparedness, including re-establishment of field and makeshift facilities, so that they are not found wanting if there is a surge in hospital admissions due to escalation in Covid cases.
New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) The Centre on Tuesday asked states and Union territories to review infrastructure preparedness, including re-establishment of field and makeshift facilities, so that they are not found wanting if there is a surge in hospital admissions due to escalation in Covid cases.
To tackle a possible rise in COVID-19 cases, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on January 1 advised states to start setting up makeshift hospitals, constitute special teams to monitor patients in home isolation as he emphasised the significance of upgrading health infrastructure timely and swiftly.
Referring to the letter of Bhushan, Additional Secretary in the ministry Arti Ahuja wrote to all states, saying it is expected that the work for re-establishment and re-commissioning of field and makeshift hospital facilities would have begun.
States and Union Territories must have also started the exercise to repurpose the beds in public and private hospitals for Covid cases to ensure maximum preparedness against another potential surge in cases, the officer said in the letter additional chief secretary, principal secretary and health secretary of all states.
Also Read | Gujarat: 15-Year-Old Girl Dies By Suicide After Being Scolded By Father Over Tuition Fees Money.
"You may review this matter at your level regularly to ensure that in the eventuality of a potential surge in hospital admissions, the state and UT is not found wanting," she stated.
States are also expected to develop Covid care centres in hotel rooms and other similar accommodations to be linked with dedicated Covid hospitals mild or asymptomatic cases, Ahuja reiterated.
"It is imperative that logistical supplies like testing reagents and kits (both for RT-PCR and rapid antigen testing) are procured and maintained in ample supply to avoid any stock shortages, in case of a sudden increase in the number of cases. It is advised that these preparatory measures must be taken up with the highest priority and regular monitoring may be ensured."
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)