In the last 24 hours, India has reported 1,59,632 new positive cases

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called for intensive containment, active surveillance and required technical support to states which are reporting higher Omicron cases.

He said this while chairing a high-level meeting to assess the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country, ongoing preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, status of the vaccination campaign in the country and the emergence of new Covid-19 variant Omicron and its public health implications for the country.

In view of rising positive cases, the Prime Minister stressed on the need to ensure effective usage of masks and physical distancing measures as a new normal to control the spread, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

PM Modi further exhorted the need for effective implementation of home isolation for mild/asymptomatic cases and to disseminate the factual information to the community at large, the PMO said.

During the review meeting, which was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya and senior government officials, the Prime Minister said a meeting with CMs be convened to discuss state-specific scenarios, best-practices and the public health response.

He further highlighted the need to ensure continuity of non-Covid health services while managing Covid cases presently.

He also spoke about the need to leverage telemedicine to ensure availability of health related guidance to people in remote and rural areas.

While conveying his gratitude for the relentless services provided by healthcare workers in managing Covid-19 so far, he suggested toensure that the vaccination coverage through precaution dose for healthcare workers, front line workers should also be taken up in mission mode, the PMO said.

PM Modi also spoke about the importance for continuous scientific research in testing, vaccines and pharmacological interventions including genome sequencing given that the virus is evolving continuously, the PMO added.