Mumbai, Dec 22 (IANS): After a new case of Coronavirus variant JN-1 was reported from Maharashtra this week, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde assured the state on Thursday that the health system is fully geared to tackle the fresh challenges headlong.

Shinde held a detailed meeting with the health and district administration officials to review the status of the medical system, and directed that all hospitals and healthcare institutions must conduct structural, electrical and fire safety audits on priority.

As an immediate measure, the government has kept 63,000 isolation beds, 33,000 oxygen beds, 9,500 ICU beds and 6,000 ventilator beds ready to tackle any influx of patients in the coming weeks all over the state.

The CM has asked all the state hospitals to equip themselves with other medical requirements like face masks, ventilators, liquid medical oxygen plants and pipelines, RTPCR labs, staff, vaccines, medicines, etc.

The video-conference review was attended by Health Minister Tanaji Sawant, Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, top officials of various departments and all Divisional Commissioners in the state.

The CM also directed the concerned government departments to collect information on the people who have been inoculated or those who are not vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccines yet, adding that the health department should set up a Special Task Force as was done in the earlier Corona waves, take guidance of experts and keep all medical stocks ready.

At the same time, he assured the people that there’s no cause for panic but urged all citizens to get medical help if they have symptoms of cold, cough or fever, wear face masks while in public or crowded spaces, especially during the upcoming Christmas-New Year festival season.

Shinde also cautioned that social media and mass media platforms should ensure that no misleading news is circulated on the new Covid variant and people should rely only on official information.

Mushrif and Sawant provided details of the preparedness of their respective ministries and said that mock drills will be conducted to ensure that the entire health machinery is functioning properly and is responsive to any situation.

Presently, 45 Corona patients are undergoing treatment in different hospitals, including in Mumbai (27), Thane and Pune (8 each), Raigad and Kolhapur (1 each), and the government will launch a mass awareness campaign on the JN-1 variant.