Over 11,000 oxygen plants are functional and nearly 2.8 lakh (0.28 million) isolation beds are available in over 20,000 health facilities across the country where mock drills were conducted on Tuesday (27) to check the operational readiness to deal with Covid-19 amid a surge in cases in some countries, officials said.
The Narendra Modi had asked states and Union Territories (UTs) to conduct the drill as part of precautionary measures following an increase in Covid cases in China and other countries.
According to officials, 20,021 facilities, including 15,424 government ones conducted the exercise across 37 states and UTs.
Of the total 3,37,710 isolation beds across these facilities, 2,79,202 are functional. Out of the total 2,82,229 oxygen supported-Covid beds, 2,45,894 are operational, they said. Besides, of the 70,073 ICU beds and 57,286 ICU-cum-ventilator beds, 64,711 and 49,236 are functional, respectively.
During the drill, it was found that 88 per cent of the 70,996 ventilators across 20,021 facilities are functional, they said, adding that 93 per cent of 12,656 Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants, 94 per cent of 6,63,547 oxygen cylinders and 96 per cent of 2,37,003 oxygen concentrators are functional, official sources said.
Among drugs, these facilities have a stock of 713,785 Remdesivir, 76,581 tocilizumab, 8,41,85,669 doxycyclin, 8,42,90, 682 Azithromycin and 2,46 27,157 dexamethasone, they said.
Also, 11,681 basic life support ambulances and 3,723 advanced-life support ambulances are available, they said. Official sources further said 10,515 facilities have tele-medicine services while there are 9,144 ambulance cell centres, they said.
Indian health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said the drill was necessary to know how prepared the hospitals are.
"Covid cases are rising all over the world and India might witness a spike in cases too. Hence it is important that the entire Covid infrastructure in terms of equipment, processes and human resources are in a state of operational readiness. Clinical readiness at hospitals is crucial," he said.
Cautioning against complacency, he urged everyone to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour. He also asked people to refrain from sharing unverified information and ensure high level of preparedness.
A Palestinian boy carrying a bag over his shoulder walks through a heavily damaged street in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 31, 2026. Hamas said on July 31, 2026, it had agreed to a deal announced by the US president to end its war with Israel, which includes it handing over its weapons to a Palestinian governing committee and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Getty Images
Protesters trample on photographs of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump, along with Israeli and U.S. flags during a rally in Caracas on July 24, 2026, protesting the presence and influence of the United States and Israel in the country, one month after the June 24 earthquakes. Recovering from the earthquakes in Venezuela will take years, the Red Cross said on July 24, one month on from the June 24 disaster that killed more than 5,000 people. Getty Images
