Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged Indians to take precautions as Covid-19 is surging in many countries.
Cases of Covid-19 are currently on the rise in many countries, such as China and the United States, and the Union government and various state governments have held high-level meetings regarding it. A number of advisories have also been issued.
In his 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast, Modi on Saunday said many people are on a vacation or will go on one during Christmas and New Year and urged them to follow protocols like wearing masks and washing hands to ensure that their enjoyment is not affected adversely by the virus.
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Earlier, Modi held a high-level meeting to review the Covid-19 situation and directed officials to increase disease surveillance and ramp up administration of booster doses of coronavirus vaccines to the vulnerable population.
What else did PM Modi say today?
Modi said the outgoing year 2022 has been inspirational to India in many ways.
India carved out a special place for itself in the world with its incredible vaccination doses of over 220 crore and the country becoming the fifth largest global economy, said Modi.
The country also achieved the "magical" export figure of $400 billion (one billion=100 crore) and made new strides in space, defence and drone sectors, said Modi and highlighted Indian achievements in sports.
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Inrease testing, audit health infra: PM Modi
In the review meeting held earlier this week, Modi directed officials to increase Covid-19 testing and auditing the healthcare infrastructure.
Modi also directed officials to increase genome sequencing of Covid-19 samples to identify any new coronavirus variant at the earliest.
"Prime Minister stressed the need to ensure that the entire Covid infrastructure at all levels is maintained at a high level of preparedness in terms of equipment, processes and human resources. He advised States to audit Covid specific facilities to ensure operational readiness of Hospital Infrastructure, including Oxygen Cylinders, PSA plants, ventilators and human resources," said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in a statement.
Modi also urged everyone to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks in crowded public places, at all times, especially in view of the upcoming festive season. He also urged that precaution dose may be encouraged especially for vulnerable and elderly groups.
Earlier, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul flagged the very low booster dose coverage among Indians. He said only 27-28 per cent Indians have taken the third booster dose of coronavirus vaccine, dubbed by the government as precaution doses.
(With PTI inputs)
