PM Modi to hold high-level meeting to review Covid situation

In the wake of India reporting four cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will convene a high-level meeting on Thursday afternoon.

This comes a day after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya reviewed the situation and asked people to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, including wearing masks in crowded places and getting vaccinated.

Four cases of Omicron sub-variant driving China surge have been detected in India.

Many states too have pepped up Covid preparedness. While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will convene an emergency meeting on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too advised health officials to form a committee of experts to keep an eye on the emerging situation.

The health ministry had also urged all states and Union territories to ramp up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples for timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country. The states have been asked to ensure that samples of all positive cases are sent to the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, India logged 185 new coronavirus infections, while the active cases declined to 3,402, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.