The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on Saturday, issued a fresh six-point Covid advisory to the states as coronavirus cases exploded in China with a record high of 37 million on a single day.
Centre released the Covid guidelines to the states to face any challenges arising in future. “Even though the Covid cases in the country are low and not surging as of now, but to face any challenges arising in future, the operationalisation and maintenance of these medical infrastructures is of utmost importance,” said the advisory.
The health ministry requested the states to direct all the concerned departments to ensure that PSA plants are kept fully functional and regular mock drills are being conducted to check them.
The availability of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) in the health facilities and an uninterrupted supply chain for their refilling should be ensured, directed the health ministry to the states.
The other guidelines issued by the Centre to the states are to ensure adequate inventory of Oxygen Cylinders along with backup stocks and robust refilling system is maintained and availability of functional life support equipments such as Ventilators, BipAp and SpO2 systems along with their consumables is there.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also asked the states to ensure that oxygen control rooms should be reinvigorated at States/UTs level for prompt resolutions of oxygen related issues and challenges and to ensure on-boarding of all healthcare facilities utilizing oxygen to oDAS platform for daily oxygen demand and consumption be monitored for implementation.
Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, said today, that all travellers coming from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand will have to go through RT-PCR. And they will be quarantined if found positive.
The government has directed airport authorities to start random Covid testing of 2% of international passengers from today.