The Union Health Ministry has flagged the failure of the State to provide updates on the hospitalisation of COVID patients in two districts.
In a letter to the Principal Secretary, State Health Department, Rajan N.Khobragade, the ministry observed that Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram districts had not been updating the hospitalisation data on the COVID India portal. The letter sent by Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said the data from Alappuzha was last updated on November 1, 2021 while the input from Thiruvananthapuram was last received on December 20.
Pointing out that the ministry was analysing the hospitalisation data to monitor the situation and plan its response in collaboration with States, the letter said accurate data was crucial in the battle against the pandemic for timely and effective decision-making at the district and State-level and for smooth and quick coordination between the States and Centre.
“It is a crucial time to strengthen all our efforts made so far in curbing the spread of infection to efficiently manage the challenges posed by the Omicron variant.”
“It is therefore imperative for States to plan in terms of healthcare infrastructure, logistics like ventilators, oxygen requirement, PPE kits, N-95 masks and trained manpower to effectively manage any surge in hospitalization cases,” the letter said.
