Bengaluru, Mar 7 (IANS): Bengaluru civic body commissioner N Manjunath Parasad on Saturday directed health officers to ramp up Covid vaccine drive as well as increase the testing also and keep a check on rise in the Covid-19 cases.

Addressing virtual meetings with health officers here, Prasad said that the government has already issued a circular in this regard to increase vaccination drive in all Primary Health Centres as well as in private hospitals too.

He added that the new vaccination drive being launched on March 8 and it happens to be International Women's Day, the civic body will have to take steps to set-up pink booths to exclusively administer vaccination to women.

"According to the new mandate, each PHC will have to inoculate 50 to 100 persons a day while in taluka centres it will be no less than 200 inoculation a day. Health department will have to work on this line to meet the new requirement," he said.

The commissioner also added that the health department will have to intensify surveillance of influenza like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI). "We are at present conducting 38,000 test per day, we must not lose focus on these illnesses to bring down the numbers," he said.

Meanwhile the Bengaluru civic body administrator Gaurav Gupta said that the civic body would take suitable measures to expedite vaccination and drive everyone in a phased manner.

Participating in the ward committee, Gupta said that to vaccinate everyone and in a phased manner the number of people getting vaccinated are being increased.

"Vaccination drive will intensify from next week onwards. Vaccine will be available in all primary health care centres, referral hospitals and private hospitals, he informed. Everyone would get the vaccine," he assured.