STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Keeping pace with other parts of the country, healthcare institutions of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday conducted mock drill regarding Covid preparedness to assess the key facilities and logistics requisite to deal with any emerging situation due to the pandemic.
Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, Bhupinder Kumar, monitored and supervised the conduct of Mock Drill exercises conducted across the UT to check the functionality in respect of key facilities and logistics for COVID management in healthcare institutions.
After reviewing the status of activities carried out at different healthcare institutions and assessing the data uploaded on the national portal, Secretary expressed satisfaction over successful completion of mock drills carried out by the healthcare institutions and their preparedness for the COVID.
Mock drills held in hospitals across country
New Delhi/Mumbai: Mock drills were held at health facilities across India on Tuesday to check operational readiness to deal with any spurt in COVID-19 infection, with Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya saying the country has to remain alert and prepared as cases are rising in the world.
Mandaviya oversaw the exercise at the Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital here, while health ministers took stock in their respective states and gave information on available beds, oxygen support and other equipment, medicines, vaccines, etc.
The Centre had asked states and union territories to conduct the drill as part of precautionary measures following an increase in infection in China and other countries.
“Covid cases are rising all over the world and India might witness a spike in cases too. Hence it is important that the entire Covid infrastructure in terms of equipment, processes and human resources are in a state of operational readiness,” he said, adding government and private hospitals were making arrangements to ensure the people do not face any difficulty.
Clinical readiness at hospitals is crucial, Mandaviya said.
He cautioned against complacency and urged everyone to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. He also asked people to refrain from sharing unverified information and ensure a high-level of preparedness.
“To prevent an outbreak, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed us to stay alert and remain prepared,” he said.
India recorded a single-day rise of 157 new COVID-19 cases, while the count of active cases of the disease has marginally decreased to 3,421, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
In Delhi, besides the LNJP Hospital, the drill was conducted at various other government hospitals like Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital and private hospitals too, including the Apollo hospital in south Delhi.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the health portfolio, visited the Delhi government-run Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital around noon to assess the drill and asserted that the city government-run hospitals were “fully equipped” to fight Covid.
“The Delhi government is prepared for any kind of emergency. At LNJP, there are 2,000 beds and 450 of them are marked for COVID-19. If a need arises, we can dedicate all 2,000 beds for COVID-19… we can also increase this number by using nearby banquet halls and add an additional 500 beds for COVID-19, so there would be no shortage,” Sisodia told reporters at the hospital.
Four international travellers from Myanmar, who tested positive for Covid at the Delhi airport, are admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing
In Mumbai, medical facilities including Seven Hills Hospital (having 1,700 beds) and Cama Hospital (100 beds) conducted the mock drill.
J J Hospital’s Dean Dr Pallavi Saple told PTI that they conducted the mock drill in line with the instructions from health authorities.
According to the state health department, 44,666 passengers arrived at Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur international airports, and at least 703 underwent RT-PCR tests and two tested positive for the infection.
The samples of the infected passengers were sent for genome sequencing, it said.
In Madhya Pradesh, state Medical Education Minister Vishvas Sarang said the drills were conducted in all government medical institutions in the state.
“We are ready to deal with any situation. The drill was conducted to check the preparedness of oxygen generation, Intensive Care Unit, Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, oxygen supported beds, medicines,” Sarang said while appealing to all to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said the mock covered all Covid hospitals in the state.
“I personally checked the Covid management (facilities), oxygen flow and ventilators at Lucknow’s Balrampur Hospital. Everything is working fine,” told reporters.
At least one senior officer, MLA or minister is present at the drills in hospitals across the state, Pathak said.
Officials in West Bengal said the mock drill was conducted at Kolkata-based hospitals including MR Bangur Hospital, Infectious Diseases and Beleghata General Hospital.
All private hospitals in the city and one hospital each in the districts are also taking part in the drill, they said.
In Gujarat, officials said at least one lakh beds and 15,000 ICUs with ventilators are ready to be converted for the use of COVID-19 patients
State Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said Gujarat has prepared a comprehensive plan and reviewed the preparedness of the existing health infrastructure in case of any eventuality on the pandemic front.
The government will also launch a fresh drive for administering booster doses after receiving 12 lakh doses of Covaxin and Covishield vaccines for which it has placed a fresh order, the minister told reporters.
The exercise included checking of Oxygen General Plants installed at different locations, availability of machinery and equipments, availability of drugs, diagnostics and other COVID logistics. All the healthcare institutions were found to be in the state of preparedness to tackle any upsurge of COVID cases in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Head of the Departments and Chief Medical Officers of the all the districts were issued instructions to ensure that the equipments which were found non-functional should be got repaired immediately and all unavailable logistics are arranged and kept in sufficient stock.
