Principal Secretary to PM chairs high-level meeting

In view of the recent reports of detection of certain newer variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus reported globally, Dr. P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister chaired a high-level meeting to review the global and national COVID-19 situation, newer variants in circulation and their public health impact. The meeting was attended by Dr. Vinod Paul, Member, NITI Aayog; Rajiv Gauba, Cabinet Secretary; Amit Khare, Advisor PMO; Sudhansh Pant, Secretary, Health and Family Welfare; Rajiv Bahl, Secretary DHR and DG ICMR; Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, Biotechnology and Ms Punya Salila Srivastava, Additional Secretary to PM. An overview of the global COVID-19 situation was given by Secretary (Health) including certain newer variants of SARS-CoV-2 virus like BA.2.86 (Pirola) and EG.5 (Eris), which have been reported globally.