Health Minister boosts surveillance of new Covid strains amid fears of 'XE' variant

New Delhi, April 12: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a review meeting regarding the new Coronavirus strain- 'XE variant' on Tuesday and directed the officials to boost the ongoing monitoring and surveillance in the country. The health minister, in one of his recent tweets, said that he held a meeting with the country's top experts regarding the new 'XE Variant' of Covid-19, where he reviewed the number of infections and gave necessary instructions for strengthening the ongoing monitoring and surveillance system to study the new variants and related cases. As per a statement by the health ministry, Mandaviya has instructed officials on the medical infrastructure and resources front to constantly review the availability of essential drugs and medicines required for Covid-19 treatment. "He further emphasized that the ongoing vaccination drive must be carried out at full pace and all eligible should be vaccinated," it stated. Also Read | India not violating any sanctions by importing Russian oil: US after Modi-Biden meet "While reviewing the cases of Covid-19 in the country, he (Mandaviya) directed the officials to boost the ongoing monitoring and surveillance of new variants and cases," the official statement by the ministry of health read. The meeting was attended by key Covid-19 experts and officials of the country. Dr V.K. Paul, member, Health, NITI Aayog; Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary; Dr Randeep Guleria, Director at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS); Dr Balram Bhargava, Director General (DG) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR); Dr NK Arora, Chairman of Covid-19 Working Group of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), and other senior officials of the Health Ministry were among the attendees. Also Read | 11,000 MT of rice from India reaches Colombo ahead of new year celebrations -PTC News