Centre recommends States to review hospital preparedness amid rise in cases of respiratory illness in China

Amid the developing public health crisis in China, the Union Health Ministry on Sunday advised States and Union Territories to reassess hospital readiness and public health protocols right away. The Health Ministry stated that while it is closely monitoring the situation, it is not too concerning right now.

“In view of the recent reports indicating a surge in respiratory illness in children in northern China in recent weeks, the Union Health Ministry has proactively decided to review the preparedness measures against respiratory illnesses, as a matter of abundant caution. This is noted to be important in view of the ongoing influenza and winter season that results in an increase in respiratory illness cases. The government of India is closely monitoring the situation and indicated that there is no need for any alarm,” the ministry said.

“All States and Union Territories have been advised to implement ‘Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in the context of COVID-19’, shared earlier this year, which provides for integrated surveillance of respiratory pathogens presenting as cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI),” Ministry said.
“They have also been asked to ensure that the trends of ILI/SARI should be closely monitored by the district and state surveillance units of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP), particularly of children and adolescents,” it added.
Ministry said that information shared by WHO has indicated an increase in respiratory illness in northern parts of China.