COVID scare: PM Modi to hold a high-level meeting

COVID-19 India update: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a review meeting today (Thursday, December 22) with regard to the Covid situation in the country. The high-level meeting has been called after four cases of Omicron sub-variant BF.7 were confirmed in the country (two each in Gujarat and Odisha). The variant is driving the present massive surge in Covid cases in China.

The meeting will be held at around 3:30 pm in the afternoon.

The development comes a day after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the coronavirus situation and asked people to follow Covid-appropriate behavior, including wearing masks in crowded places and getting vaccinated.

Official sources have said random sample testing will be done at airports for international passengers arriving from China and other countries. There has been a sudden spurt in Covid cases in China and some other countries.

Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in Japan, South Korea, Brazil, China, and the US, the central government had on Tuesday (December 20) urged all states and Union territories to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of emerging variants.

In a letter to the states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had said such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate the undertaking of requisite public health measures.

The public health challenges of COVID-19 still persists around the world with around 35 lakh cases reported weekly.

India COVID tally:

India recorded 185 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours. According to the data shared by the Union Health Ministry today (December 22), the total recovery rate reached around 98.80 percent and total recoveries data reached 4,41,42,432.

The total active cases of COVID-19 in India have decreased to 3,402, the health ministry data showed today. Yesterday, the registered active cases were around 3,408. A decrease of total of six cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The active cases comprise 0.01 percent of the total infections, the ministry said.

The total death toll in the country is now at 5,30,681. In India, the first death due to the COVID pandemic was reported in March 2020. According to the ministry’s website, 220.02 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country so far under the nationwide vaccination drive.

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