HM reviews situation as few states report spike in cases

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday reviewed the COVID-19 situation in the country in the wake of sudden spike in cases in a few states. He also reviewed the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country.

The review meeting was also attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and top officials of the two ministries.

The home minister took stock of the Coronavirus situation in the country, particularly in the states which have witnessed a spike in cases recently, a home ministry official said.

The ongoing vaccination drive and the steps needed to check further spread of the virus were discussed in the meeting, the official said.

The possible assistance to be offered to the affected states was also discussed in the meeting, another official said.

There have been reports of sudden spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, the cumulative number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered to healthcare and frontline workers has crossed 1.14 crore on Monday. According to Health Ministry's report, a total of 1,14,24,094 vaccine doses have been given through 2,44,071 sessions till 6 pm. Of the total vaccinated beneficiaries, 64,25,060 are healthcare workers, which is 67.3 per cent of the total eligible HCWs, who have taken the first dose and 11,15,542 HCWs have been administered the second dose, along with 38,83,492 frontline workers (FLWs) that is 40.1 per cent of the eligible beneficiaries who have taken the first dose of the vaccine.

Total 3,07,238 vaccine doses were given till 6 pm on the 38th day of nationwide Covid-19 vaccination and out of which, 1,59,550 beneficiaries were vaccinated for the first dose and 1,47,688 HCWs received the second dose of vaccine through 11,754 sessions held in a single day on Monday.

"The four states/UTs of Lakshadweep, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, have vaccinated more than 75 per cent of registered HCWs and FLWs for the first dose," the ministry said, adding that ten states/UTs of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Tripura, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana, have registered more than 50 per cent coverage for the first dose among FLWs.