Govt urges private health sector to be ready to face Omicron threat

In view of Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Centre on Friday urged the private health sector to be ready as it has to play an important role in managing the pandemic.

Addressing a press conference, NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul said the private sector has been part and parcel of the national infrastructure.

"I would now like to request the private health sector also to prepare to include them in the entire health system level preparedness. The private sector has played and continues to play a very important role in managing the pandemic at the national level," he said.

Paul said the government would also like to specifically request the private sector teams to get ready in terms of how they will repurpose, should the need arise.

"We will request them to do the audits and the oversight of their drugs availability, oxygen availability and really go back on their own facility specific SOPs so that we are truly ready," he said.

"And the same way in particular, also, we will remind all of us that human resources are very important and here again, a huge effort has been mounted by the government to create teams and to train them. And the same thing also applies in the private sector that the team should know what and how they will be deployed and therefore, an overarching preparedness in the wake of the Omicron threat be launched that is our first message," he said.

Paul said the second message the government wants to emphasise is the need for care.

"Festivals and new year are there so at municipality, district and state level, guidelines have been provided so that gatherings do not take place," he said.

About 358 cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus detected in India so far in the country.