Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Sunday telephoned Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to find about the State’s preparedness to tackle a possible third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Baghel briefed Ms. Gandhi on the availability of hospital beds and oxygen and assured her that Chhattisgarh was “fully prepared” to deal with any developing situation.
On Sunday morning, the Congress-ruled State reported 279 cases but is yet to officially report any case of the Omicron variant.
“Soniaji called up in the morning and expressed her concern. I have given her a complete briefing,” Mr. Baghel told reporters in Raipur.
He said a few cities like Raigarh and Raipur have seen a rise in the cases but no case of Omicron has been reported.
Mr. Baghel appealed to the people not to press the panic button as Chhattisgarh has geared up to deal with a fresh wave.
“Since many samples of COVID-19 are being sent to Odisha for genome sequencing and there is a rush out there, it is taking time.”
Ms. Gandhi’s call came on a day when State Health Minister T.S. Singhdeo had called off his official engagements and gone into self-isolation following common cold and flu like symptoms. Late in the evening, Mr. Singhdeo tweeted that he had tested positive.
