In the wake of rising COVID cases across the country, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held a meeting on Thursday to discuss the COVID-19 situation in the state and the rising concern surrounding the new JN.1 sub-variant. It was an online conference that was attended by the collectors of all districts and health officials from the Nagpur division. The chief minister instructed the hospitals to keep the running supply of oxygen plants, ventilators, oxygen pipelines, and RT-PCR labs. As per the state government data, more than 63,000 isolation beds, 33,000 oxygen beds, and 9,500 ICU beds are available in case of a possible surge in cases.
During the meeting, the health machinery was also instructed to set up a task force after the detection of the first JN.1 sub-variant case in the state. The health officials of the state and the district collectors have been instructed to undertake structural, electrical, and fire audits of health establishments. At present, Maharashtra has 45 cases of COVID-19, out of which 27 are from Mumbai, 8 from Pune and Thane respectively, and 1 each from Kolhapur and Raigad.
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Public Prevention
Apart from the authorities, CM Eknath Shinde also addressed the general public and requested everyone to get tested in case of symptoms like cough, cold, and fever. He also gave reassurances that the state is well-equipped to deal with any possible situation and the people need not worry about anything. However, it is advised to be more cautious during Christmas and New Year and use masks in crowded public places.
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India is witnessing a rapid surge in active COVID-19 cases, which raises concern because of the new sub-variant and its tendency to transmit more quickly. 640 new cases of COVID infection and one death in Kerala have been reported in the last twenty-four hours. This advancement in cases has taken the total number of active cases to 2,997 from the previous day’s 2,669.