'Ensure enough medical oxygen in stock': Centre tells states amid Covid concerns
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya (Photo credit: PTI)
The Union Health Ministry on Saturday asked all the states and the Union Territories to ensure a functional and regular supply of medical oxygen for COVID-19 pandemic management.
In a letter, the ministry said that medical oxygen is an important and vital resource in all clinical settings, particularly during pandemic management.
"Reliable oxygen supply is critical for saving lives during patient care and COVID-19 management," it stated.\
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Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that RT-PCR test for the detection of COVID-19 would be made mandatory for international passengers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand. Any passenger from these countries found symptomatic or testing positive for coronavirus would be quarantined, Mandaviya said.
With China and other countries witnessing a surge in Covid cases, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Thursday cautioned against complacency, called for a strict vigil and directed that the ongoing surveillance measures, especially at international airports, be strengthened.
It is worth mentioning here that the Union health ministry has already asked the civil aviation ministry to ensure random post-arrival Covid testing at airports of 2 per cent of the passengers arriving in India on each international flight from Saturday to minimise the risk of ingress of any new variant of the coronavirus in the country.