May 25, 2025 12:43 AM IST
Saturday’s meeting was the second Covid-19 review meeting in a week and was convened following rising cases in countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong
The Union health ministry held a meeting to review the Covid-19 situation in the country on Saturday, officials familiar with the matter said, adding that there was no need to panic as the ministry is closely monitoring the situation.
“It is observed that most of these cases are mild and under home care,” the officials cited above said in a note after a few cases were reported from some states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Saturday’s meeting was the second Covid-19 review meeting held by the health ministry in past week, following reports of rising cases in countries like Singapore and Hong Kong.
“It may also be mentioned that there have been some media reports regarding increase in Covid 19 cases in Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries… It has been ascertained from the respective National IHR focal points that there is no indication that the circulating variants are more transmissible or cause more severe disease compared to the previously circulating variants,” the note said.
“… there is a robust pan India system for surveillance of respiratory illnesses including Covid-19 through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and ICMR’s pan India respiratory virus sentinel surveillance network,” the note said.
The meeting was attended by secretary of the department of health research (DHR), director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and director general of health services at National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), among others.
“The Union health ministry remains vigilant and through its multiple agencies, is proactively monitoring the situation closely,” read the note.
