India prepared to tackle Omicron cases? Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya says THIS

As the number of Omicron cases increases around the country, many are concerned if it will trigger a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming days. Easing these fears, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has assured the citizens in his latest statement.

Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said that India is prepared to fight the Omicron cases in the nation. He also said that the vaccine manufacturing capacity of the country will be increased to 45 crore doses per month, which will provide protection against the virus.

The health minister, while informing the Rajya Sabha on Monday, said that a buffer stock of medicine and oxygen have been prepared to mitigate any crisis and 48,000 ventilators have been distributed to states. This will help the authorities fight any new cases of the Omicron variant.

Mandaviya further informed that 88 percent of the eligible population has been given the first dose and 58 percent second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country. He also added that the government is keeping a close watch on the spread of the Omicron variant across the country.

So far, over 160 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected across India, and the government is taking all the necessary steps to tackle them. Reassuring the public, Mansukh Mandaviya conveyed that there is no need to panic because of the new COVID-19 variant yet.

Union Health Minister Mandaviya said that the government has identified ‘at risk’ countries where the variant has been reported. People coming from those countries are required to take mandatory tests on arrival to India with seven days isolation at home with another testing again after seven days.

Recently, the World Health Organisation has said that the Omicron variant spreads much faster than the Delta variant of COVID-19, and its cases are doubling in a span of 1.5 to 3 days globally. WHO has also said that the new COVID-19 variant has now been detected in 89 countries.

(With PTI inputs)