As the cases of the Omicron Covid-19 variant soar across the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued orders to the officials to curb the spread as the development has distressed the people to celebrate the New Year with what has been designated as a Variant of Concern. The order from the Prime Minister has come when several states are reinstating the lockdowns and night curfews to tackle the Omicron variant. 

Prime Minister Modi had chaired a high-level meeting on Thursday - December 23 to review the situation of the Omicron spread in the country. The meeting was warranted in light of the upcoming festival seasons where the government has planned to impose restrictions for large-scale gatherings and celebrations. The Prime Minister had taken stock of the situation and asserted that the fight against the pandemic is not over. He stressed the need to be vigilant and cautious in the fight against the variant. 

During the meeting, Modi had issued big orders to the officials, directing them to send teams to the states with low Covid-19 vaccination rates, with more cases, and insufficient health infrastructure. He instructed that the teams should assist such states in improving their vaccination rate and health infrastructure. He also highlighted that the Covid-19 protocols and guidelines must be strictly followed across the country. 

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office has said that the meeting has also discussed and reviewed the public health response and measures for containment and management of Covid-19, strengthening of health infrastructure including the availability of drugs, oxygen cylinders and concentrators, ventilators, ICU/oxygen supported beds, human resources, IT interventions, and status of vaccination. During the meeting, the officials had briefed the Prime Minister about the emerging scenario of the new variant. 

He was also briefed about the technical and priority actions recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in addressing the variant. The officials had presented to the Prime Minister the details of the Omicron cases reported in the country, including their travel history, their vaccination status, districts reporting higher positivity, and a higher number of clusters. The Prime Minister was apprised of the measures taken by the Union Health Ministry since November 25 to contain the spread of the variant and over the revised travel advisory for international passengers. 

Following the presentation, the Prime Minister has directed the officials to maintain a high level of vigil and alertness at all levels. He also had ordered the officials of the Union government to work in close coordination with the states to support their efforts of public health measures of containment and management under a holistic approach. He told the officials that the strategy of the Union government for a proactive, focused, collaborative, and cooperative fight against the pandemic should guide all the future actions of the government. 

Besides pressing the officials to enhance the testing, tracing, treating strategy, the Prime Minister had instructed the states to ensure that the eligible population is completely vaccinated against the pandemic and to expedite the measures to vaccinate the eligible population. According to Union Health Ministry, India has reported 236 cases of the Omicron variant so far as of Thursday of which 104 people have been recovered. The ministry has said that the variant was detected across 16 states and Union territories.