Country fully prepared to deal with coronavirus situation: Scindia

The country is fully prepared to deal with the coronavirus situation Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on FridayIn the wake of rising coronavirus infections in China and some other countries the government is taking various measures including random testing of arriving international passengers to curb possible spread of infectionsScindia who is in charge of the ministries of civil aviation and steel said the country is fully prepared to deal with the coronavirus situationTill now a record 220 crore coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered in the country he addedBriefing reporters here about the healthcare initiatives taken by the BJPled central government since 2014 he also expressed confidence that the country will achieve universal healthcare coverageAlso read RTPCR vax proof likely for some international flyersWith a holistic approach to healthcare Scindia said the government is focussing on health as well as wellness and making treatment of diseases inclusiveAccording to the minister medicines have become more affordable and outofpocket expenditure for medicines has come downOutofpocket health expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure has declined from 642 per cent in 201314 to 482 per cent in 201819The pillars of the governments healthcare programme are accessibilty affordability assured quality and digital delivery he addedWhile emphasising that healthcare has been one of the key focus areas of the government he said the amount of work that has been done in the sector in India in the last 78 years has not been done in the previous 70 yearsPradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana PMJAY under Ayushman Bharat is covering around 1074 crore poor and vulnerable families The number of beneficiaries is around 50 crore for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisationThe minister said that as many as 176 crore Ayushman Cards have been generated and more than 28800 public and private hospitals have been empanelledScindia also said the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana PMBJP scheme is ensuring availability of over 1800 affordable yet highquality medicines in about 8800 Jan Aushadhi pharmacy outletsBefore 2014 there were less than 400 medical colleges and more than 200 new medical colleges have been built in the country in the last eight years he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever