Mock drills held in several government and private facilities across the country

Mock drills to assess hospital preparedness were held in several government and private facilities across the country on Monday, amid an increase in Covid-19 cases. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the mock drill at the Centre-run Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML) in Delhi.

The health ministry said it received a “huge response” nationwide, with state health ministers and senior officials reviewing hospital and facility preparations and capacities. Similar drills were held in Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Jammu, according to officials. Two-day mock drills have been planned to assess the health-care facilities’ preparedness. According to officials, the health minister visited the RML hospital on Monday and oversaw the preparations, which included beds, medicines, and oxygen. The minister held an informal interactive session with department heads, doctors, nurses, and security and sanitation service heads to discuss quality clinical practises, infection control measures, hospital management, sanitation, and patient-centric provisions. Mandaviya has already advised states to be on high alert and ready for Covid-19 management. Mandaviya emphasised the importance of identifying emergency hotspots by tracking trends in influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) cases, increasing testing and vaccination, and ensuring hospital infrastructure readiness. Aside from improving genome sequencing and ramping up whole genome sequencing of positive samples, he emphasised raising awareness about Covid-appropriate behaviour.