New Delhi: The Union Government alerted all States and UTs to prepare for mock drills on Tuesday at all health facilities to ensure swift response if Covid – 19 cases surge again in the Country.

The Union Government Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan in a letter said that in a mock drill will focus on availability of beds, human resources, logistics and the supply chain of medical oxygen. It is necessary that necessary health measures are in place in all states and Union Territories to tackle any emergency, said the Centre.

The Health Secretary listed the key focus areas for the mock drills. The availability of beds, both for isolation and for life support, is high on the list. Geographically representative availability of health facilities covering all districts, bed capacities Isolation beds, oxygen-supported isolation beds, ICU beds and ventilator-supported beds, it said.

The mock drill would also focus on the human resources required to tackle any spike in Covid -19 cases, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics. Sufficient number of AYUSH practitioners and frontline workers such as Anganwadi workers would also be assessed during the drill. The exercise would also check if these health workers are properly trained to handle Covid -19 patients and medical oxygen supply.

The mock drill will also aim to boost Covid-19 testing capacities by ensuring easy availability of RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen Kits. Medical oxygen, a crisis of which had left lakhs gasping during the earlier waves of Covid – 19, is a key focus area of this mock drill.

List of the priority issues in Medical oxygen are Oxygen Concentrators, Oxygen Cylinders, PSA Plants. Liquid Medical Oxygen Storage Tanks, Medical Gas Pipeline System etc,. The centre has already announced that RT-PCR test is now mandatory for passengers flying in from five countries i.e,. China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said the Centre and States need to work in tandem and in a collaborative spirit like they did during the previous spikes. 200 fresh Covid cases recorded in the county on Saturday.