Odisha Govt Forms High-Level Committee to Combat COVID-19: CS

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government has formed a high-level committee for the combat of COVID-19 pandemic in the State, said Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on Saturday.

Briefing the media about the COVID-19 situation in the State, the Chief Secretary said that the high-level committee comprising senior doctors and scientists will advise the government in combating the pandemic.

The committee will be headed by noted doctor K Srinath Reddy, president of Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and former head of the Department of Cardiology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. Director Medical Education and Training (DMET) Dr CBK Mohanty will be the convener.

Other members include Dr Devi Prasad Shetty (chairman and founder of Narayana Health) and Dr Ramakant Panda (vice-chairman and managing director of the Asian Heart Institute).

The committee will advise the state government on proper management of COVID-19, vaccination and the possibility of a third wave. The advice of the committee will be implemented forthwith, he said.

He said that the Odisha Government has floated a global e-tender for procurement of 3.8 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines from manufacturers across the world.

Perhaps, Odisha is the first state in the country to have floated global tender for procurement of vaccine in the shortest possible time, he said.

The State Government plans to purchase 3.8 crore doses of vaccines in four months, he added.

Speaking about the lockdown, the Chief Secretary said that the lockdown is helping the State in flattening the corona graph.

The positive rate is constantly falling in the State, he added.