Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 5 (ANI): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday held a COVID-19 review meeting with senior officials, district collectors, and directed to speed up the measures to strengthen COVID-19 management.

The Chief Minister has directed to keep all government and private COVID-19 hospitals in readiness within the next 10 days, including the normal and ICU beds that were needed during the peak of the second wave.

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Patnaik advised the officers to work on a campaign mode to attain the target of vaccinating the people giving the priority of the vaccination of 15 to 18 years old.

He stated that the restrictions have to be imposed in an appropriate manner to contain the transmission of the virus, keeping in mind that it doesn't affect the livelihood of the people.

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The Chief Minister said that "the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly across the country. The number of patients has doubled in a few days, it is likely that country will witness lakh of people infected with COVID-19 soon."

"Odisha is also witnessing an increase in the number of Omicron patients. Therefore, we need to take immediate measures to ensure better COVID-19 management, without causing much inconvenience to the people," he said.

Additional Chief Administrative Secretary, Department of Health, R.K. Sharma, informed that the state government is closely monitoring the situation, foreigners are being screened regularly.

All districts of the state had the required amount of medicines, beds, and oxygen. The state government would soon develop a treatment protocol, he said. (ANI)

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