Himachal Pradesh Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil, along with officials from the Health Department and the National Health Mission, attended the meeting on Friday, which was presided over by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. Dhani Ram Shandil provided the Centre with an update on the current Covid-19 situation in Hill State. He emphasised the state’s daily Covid-19 testing, which is around 5000 per day, and the average testing rate per population is higher across the country.
“There is currently sufficient bed availability in the state, an adequate supply of oxygen, and an adequate number of ventilators available in healthcare facilities throughout the state that can cater to future needs in any emergency,” he said during the meeting. The Covid-19 vaccine is currently unavailable throughout the state, according to the government statement. The Health Minister of Himachal Pradesh has requested that the Covid-19 vaccine be supplied to the state so that the precautionary dose can be administered to the public.” Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a review meeting with health ministers of all states and union territories on Friday through video conferencing. During the meeting, he asked them to stay alert and remain prepared for the management of the disease.
Mandaviya further urged the State Health Ministers to conduct mock drills of all hospital infrastructure on 10 and 11 April, and review the health preparedness with district administrations and health officials on 8 and 9 April. According to the Union health ministry, states and UTs were also requested to expeditiously increase the rate of testing from the current rate of 100 tests per million as of the week ending 7 April and further advised to increase the share of RT-PCR in tests. “States and UTs were briefed that India has been witnessing a steady increase in Covid-19 cases, with average daily cases rising to 4,188 in the week ending 7 April from 571 in the week ending 17 March, and weekly positivity up to 3.02 percent in the week ending 7 April,” the official press release from the ministry said.
