Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today directed concerned officials to keep all government and private Covid hospitals in readiness within the next 10 days.
Patnaik asked officials to keep in readiness at least the number of beds and ICU beds that were needed at the time of the peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the State, said an official press release.
The Chief Minister via video conferencing directed the officials to expedite the process during a review of the Covid-19 preparedness with the heads of various departments of the State and District Collectors
Patnaik advised officials to work on campaign mode to attain the target of vaccinating the people while prioritizing vaccination of 15-18 year-olds.
While stating that restrictions have to be imposed in an appropriate manner to contain the transmission of the virus, the Chief Minister advised that attention has to be paid that it doesn’t affect the livelihood of the people.
Patnaik said that the Omicron variant is spreading fast across the country. Within a few days the number of patients is doubling and it is likely that very soon the country will witness lakhs of people infected with Covid, he added.
“Omicron cases have also started increasing in Odisha. So we have to take immediate measures for better Covid management without causing much inconvenience to the people,” the CM stated.
While informing that during the review meeting held last week it was decided to undertake some preparations on war footing, Patnaik advised the Chief Secretary to review the progress of its implementation on a daily basis.
During the last Covid wave senior officers were given the responsibility of oxygen management, information sharing and training module.
The Chief Minister advised for again making functional different monitoring groups and the observation system at the district level.
Since transmission of infection is likely to be very fast during this wave it is pertinent to operationalize all systems and processes, he added.
Patnaik appealed to the people in addition to remaining vigilant, religiously observe Covid rules and cooperate with officials.
Participating in the meeting, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra told that directions will be issued to concerned officials and District Collectors according to the directives of the Chief Minister.
He said senior officers will be visiting the districts and after reviewing the situation at the district level will make arrangements for taking required measures.
Additional Chief Secretary (Health) RK Sharma made a presentation at the meeting on the State government’s preparedness.
Sharma informed that in Odisha a close watch is being maintained on Omicron infection and foreign returnees are being tested regularly.
He further informed that the State government will very soon prepare a ‘Treatment Protocol’ and added that districts have the required number of beds and required quantities of oxygen and medicines in stock.
The newly appointed DGP Sunil Bansal informed the meeting that restrictions are being observed in the State with the cooperation of the people and in the coming days it will be intensified.
Secretary to CM(5T) VK Pandian taking part in the deliberation at the meeting opined that a watch should be kept on crowding both indoor and outdoor while observing Covid restrictions.
Collectors of Sundargarh, Balangir, Ganjam, and Balasore and Commissioners of BMC and CMC shared information of the various steps taken by them and their preparedness in their areas.
Secretaries of various departments took part in the deliberations at the meeting.
