NAVEEN ASKS OFFICIALS TO KEEP READY THE DEDICATED COVID HOSPITALS
Bureau,Odishabarta
Bhubaneswar: With a gradual increase of COVID-19 cases and detection of Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday directed the officials concerned to keep dedicated COVID hospitals ready in the next 10 days. During a virtual review meeting on the prevailing coronavirus situation in the State, the Chief Minister also asked the authorities to strictly enforce necessary restrictions without affecting the livelihood of people.
Naveen said that general and ICU beds at Government and private COVID hospitals should be kept ready like the measures taken during the peak of the second wave last year, a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said. As many as 10,000 to 12,000 people were infected daily during the peak of the second wave of the pandemic in 2021. Naveen also directed the officials to work on a campaign mode to achieve the COVID vaccination target and give priority to inoculation of those in the 15-18 age group.
Seeking the cooperation of people, Naveen urged them to remain vigilant and abide by all the rules and regulations to cooperate with the officials in charge of campaigns and medical needs. Naveen also directed Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra to review the implementation of the decisions taken earlier. The Chief Minister suggested that the various monitoring groups such as oxygen management, information campaign, training module and district-level monitoring systems be restored immediately.
“As the virus is likely to spread rapidly in the country, it is imperative that all measures be taken immediately,” Naveen said. According to health expert Niraj Mishra, the ongoing COVID-19 spread is likely to reach its peak by the month-end.
After the reduction of cases in the second wave, the State Government had closed several temporary COVID centres across the State.
Meanwhile, Odisha’s COVID-19 caseload crossed 10.56 lakh after 680 new cases were reported on Tuesday. The State has so far registered 37 cases of Omicron, the new variant of COVID-19, since December 21, an official said.
#dns
