Are we ready? Mock drills starts today to check Covid-19 preparedness in India

As per the data released by the Union Health Ministry on Monday, India has reported 5,880 Covid cases in the past day, and the number of active cases has surpassed 35,000. Keeping the situation in mind, a statewide mock drill is being performed today and tomorrow to assess hospital readiness in light of the rise in Covid-19 cases in India.

Both public and commercial hospitals are expected to take part. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya would visit AIIMS, Jhajjar, today to supervise the exercise. Mandaviya had encouraged state health ministers to visit hospitals and monitor drills during a review meeting last week. 

The health minister warned that there should be alertness for a potential fourth wave of the COVID pandemic. According to him, the most recent Covid mutation was the Omicron BF.7 sub-variant, and the current XBB1.16 sub-variant is what is driving the increase in infections. He added that in the ministry's experience, sub-variants are not very harmful.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is actively monitoring the variant of interest (VOI) XBB.1.5, and six additional variants, including BQ.1, BA.2.75, CH.1.1, XBB, and XBF, are also being watched, according to a statement from the ministry.

Face masks are now required to be worn in public as a precaution in Haryana and Puducherry. Masks are now required at all schools in Haryana. Kerala also has mandated the use of masks to pregnant women, elderly people and people with lifestyle diseases. 

Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is not surprising that many countries have organized drills specifically focused on pandemic preparedness. These drills may involve testing the ability of healthcare facilities to handle a surge in COVID-19 patients, assessing the readiness of public health officials to quickly identify and respond to outbreaks, and practicing social distancing and other measures to limit the spread of the virus.

It is important to note that drills are just one part of a comprehensive approach to pandemic preparedness. Other important measures include vaccination campaigns, widespread testing, contact tracing, and public education campaigns to promote behaviors that can help prevent the spread of the virus.

New Delhi's data shows that between March 1 and April 6, hospital bed occupancy stayed in the range of 1.5% and 2.7%, demonstrating that the health system is currently not under stress despite a recent rise in Covid cases being recorded in numerous regions of the country. According to the data, 18 of the 1,093 ventilator beds were used (1.65%). 11 of the 209 similar beds in the private sector (5.26%) were occupied.

The occupancy of ventilator beds, ICU beds, and oxygenated beds is the primary indicator of the spread of severe sickness brought on by Covid.