Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya will hold a virtual meeting with State health ministers on the Covid-19 situation and preparedness at 3 pm today, according to sources. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the status and preparedness of public health response to Covid-19 and emphasised the need for strengthened surveillance with a focus on genome sequencing and increased testing.

This high-level review meeting comes against the backdrop of a spike in Covid-19 cases in some countries, according to the Prime Minister`s Office. PM Modi assessed the Covid-19 situation in the country, the preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics and the status of the vaccination campaign in the country. He also assessed the emergence of new Covid-19 variants and their public health implications.