Bhubaneswar: In the wake of Omicron sub-variant BF.7 scare, the Odisha government has decided to conduct mock drill on preparedness for COVID in all its district hospitals on December 27.
It was revealed by Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra while speaking to media persons after a high-level meeting in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. The mock drill will be carried out in all district headquarters hospitals, Rourkela Government Hospital and Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar to ascertain necessary infrastructure and logistics and response of the service staff.
Stating that the government was prepared to face the situation in case of spread of COVID in the state, Mishra ruled out any grounds to panic. Reiterating that BF.7 variant was not as dangerous as made out in certain section of media, he said there has been no report of the spread of COVID from any part of the state recently.
However, as a precautionary step, the government has already issued fresh guidelines on preventive steps against the virus for awareness of the people. Shalini Pandit, secretary, Health department took stock of the situation at a meeting on December 23 and emphasised on increasing the testing for the virus.
The COVID test has been going on different hospitals across the state and its rate is higher than national average. The facilities at ILS and RMRC in Bhubaneswar and SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack are carrying out genome sequencing.
At present, 20 beds are available for COVID patients in three government medical college and hospital in Cuttack, Sambalpur and Berhampur. These include 15 beds with oxygen facility and 5 beds in ICU. Considering the situation, the number of beds would be increased, said Mishra.
