New Delhi (TIP): The revamped Union Cabinet, in its first meeting on Thursday, July 8, approved Rs 23,123 crore Covid-19 emergency response package to boost health infrastructure and paediatric care across all 736 districts in the wake of a possible third wave.
The package will be implemented by the Centre and states till March 2022, in a financial sharing pattern of Rs 15,000 crore and Rs 8,123 crore, respectively.
The aim is to add 2.4 lakh medical beds and 20,000 ICU facilities with a special focus on paediatric care, add 8,800 ambulances, help states maintain a testing capacity of 21.5 lakh a day and install medical oxygen storage tanks with gas pipelines in every district. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the package would accelerate preparedness to improve Covid response. “The aim is early prevention, detection and management and infrastructure development, including for paediatric care,” he said.
The plan will support central hospitals, including AIIMS, Delhi, and PGI, Chandigarh, for repurposing 6,688 beds for Covid management, boost genome sequencing capacity, support implementation of hospital management information system in all district hospitals and increase telemedicine capacity to 5 lakh consultations a day.
Although sero surveys showed over 55% kids had already developed antibodies and may not be disproportionately vulnerable to a third wave, the government does not want to take any chances.
The response package is an extension of the first part of the package worth Rs 15,000 crore announced in March 2020 to boost health infrastructure in the wake of the pandemic.
Don’t be complacent, single mistake can derail fight against Covid: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned his council of ministers on Thursday, July 8, that complacency could derail India’s fight against Covid-19, and a single mistake could have far-reaching impact and weaken the fight to defeat the virus, according to people aware of the developments.
At the meeting of the expanded council of 77 members, Modi also asked the ministers to be punctual, learn from their predecessors, and focus on public service. The event came a day after Modi rebooted his council, dropping 12 ministers, inducting 36 new faces, and promoting seven.
Modi said India’s fight against the pandemic was on track but expressed concern at the persistently high number of cases from Maharashtra and Kerala, said a person privy to the details of the meeting.
According to the person quoted above, the PM said that over the past few days, pictures and videos of crowded places were being circulated and people were seen roaming without masks or social distancing. “This is not a pleasant sight and it should instil a sense of fear in us,” Modi was quoted as saying by the person quoted in the first instance.
The PM said India’s fight against the pandemic was powered by frontline workers and was underway with full vigour. He also said that India was steadily vaccinating a substantial percentage of its population and testing was also consistently high.
In the past, the PM has urged people to not let their guard down against the pandemic and adhere to Covid safety protocols. At the meeting too, the PM said that everyone must remember that the threat of Covid-19 was far from over and many nations were seeing surges in infections, said the person quoted above.
He told the ministers that their aim should not be to instil fear but request people to keep taking all possible precautions so that India can move beyond the pandemic.
A second person aware of developments said Modi asked ministers to reach office on time and channel their energies on ministerial work.
He also said new ministers should not make unnecessary statements.