AMN / NEW DELHI
UNION Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday informed Parliament that RTPCR tests of 16,000 passengers from ‘at-risk’ countries have been conducted so far, of whom 18 have tested positive for COVID-19.
He also said that genome sequencing for Omicron detection is underway for such passengers.
Addressing the Lok Sabha during the Question Hour, he said the Union government has taken measures to make the country ready for any future challenges and adopted the buffer stock policy to ensure that all states have enough medicines to deal with any further surge in COVID-19 cases.
“A decision on booster dose and jabs for children will be taken on the basis of scientific advise,” he said and appealed to opposition parties to trust scientists.
Mandaviya said that India’s COVID-19 deaths per million of the population were one of the lowest in the world.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, Mandaviya urged Opposition parties to stop doing politics over the deaths related to the shortage of oxygen during the deadly second wave of the pandemic.
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The minister said that the Union government had started working for COVID-19 prevention nearly a month before the first case was reported in Kerala.
“3.46 crore coronavirus cases have been reported in India and 4.6 lakh people died. This is 1.36 percent of total cases. 25,000 cases and 340 deaths per million population were reported in India. This is one of the lowest in the world,” Mandaviya said.