Cabinet announces rs 23,000 Cr package to fight Covid

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday announced a Rs 23,000 crore second emergency Covid package to improve the facilities in the health sector across the country, which will be used by both the Central and state governments to deal with the issues facing the country with regard to the second wave of the pandemic.

The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday, a day after a major reshuffle in the Union Cabinet.

   

Addressing a press conference here, newly-appointed Union Health Minister MansukhMandaviya said: “Rs 23,000 crore package to be given to deal with the problems that occurred in the second wave of Covid-19. The package will be used jointly by the Central and state governments.”

He said the Centre would share Rs 15,000 crore while the state governments will share Rs 8,000 crore of the said package.

“We have to collectively fight the Covid pandemic. The limitation period is maximum nine months. We have to get it done quickly,” he said.

“Our duty is to help the states in every possible way,” Mandaviya said.

The Health Minister said that the package includes works like what should be done to ensure supply of critical medicines, oxygen supply and to stop the spread of Covid among children in the future.

Mandaviya said the package aims to increase 2.44 lakh beds in community and primary health centres across all states, to construct paediatric care units in 736 districts across the country, amd to build an additional 20,000 ICU beds.

He also said that through this package, the government aims to install 10,000 litre storage capacity for oxygen in the next nine months in every districts to overcome oxygen shortage.

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