Centre to hold nationwide Covid mock drill on June 5 for hospital checks

The Health Ministry will assess hospital readiness through a mock drill on June 5 as Covid-19 cases rise, with states asked to ensure oxygen, beds, and essential supplies

The Centre will conduct facility-level mock drills on June 5 to check preparedness of hospitals to tackle Covid-19, as the number of active cases crossed 4,000 in the country, according to official sources in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

 

This comes after a series of technical review meetings were chaired by Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Sunita Sharma this week in the wake of the surge in Covid cases.

 

States have also been instructed to ensure availability of oxygen, isolation beds, ventilators, and essential medicines, sources said, adding that a mock drill assessing oxygen supply systems such as PSA plants, LMO tanks, MGPS lines was conducted on June 2.

 

As of June 4, India reported 4,302 active Covid-19 cases, with an increase of 862 cases in the last 24 hours. Of these, Kerala was the worst-hit with 1,373 cases followed by Maharashtra and Gujarat with 510 and 461 cases, respectively.

 

The country also recorded seven deaths on Tuesday. These included four from Maharashtra and one each from Delhi, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. 

 

Since January 1 this year, 44 deaths have been reported in India, primarily among individuals with pre-existing illnesses such as pneumonia, coronary diseases and tuberculosis (TB).

 

Sources in the ministry stated that most cases are mild and being managed under home care.

 

The review meeting was attended by representatives from the health ministry's disaster management cell, emergency management response (EMR) cell, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

 

Central government hospitals in Delhi and representatives from all states and union territories (UTs) also participated in the meeting to evaluate the current Covid-19 situation and preparedness measures.

 

State and district surveillance units under IDSP are closely monitoring influenza like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), with testing recommended for all admitted SARI cases and 5 per cent of ILI cases according to guidelines.

 

“Positive SARI samples are sent for whole genome sequencing through the ICMR VRDL network,” an official in the know said.

 

He added that the ministry continues to closely monitor the situation and remains committed to ensuring public health safety through timely interventions and effective communication.

 

“The public is also advised to practice hand hygiene, cough etiquette, while individuals with acute respiratory illness should self-monitor and seek medical care if symptoms worsen,” he said.