<span style="color: #222222;">When the pandemic hit India hard and Covid 19 virus wreaked havoc the Central Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the states into confidence and made a concerted effort to combat the contagious disease.<br />''<br />''The Bengaluru Urban district Deputy Commissioner J Manjunath spoke to AIR on the standard operating procedures recommended by the Central Government to counter the challenges posed by the pandemic.<br />''<br />''The states were all rendered this valuable advice from Government of India on the various measures to be taken including setting up of task force with experts, surveillance mechanism, institutional and home quarantine measures, mobilising large scale public support on new norms to be followed, managing lockdowns with minimum discomfort, the containment zones, containment measures, providing budgetary support, aids and medical equipment.<br />''<br />''Particular mention also needs to be made on the supply of large number of ventilators under PM Care to the district hospitals which helped us set up ICU with ventilators not only at the district level but also at the block level hospitals and help us handle the crisis in a more decentralised way, oxygen storage tanks came up, oxygen generation plants were set up, ICU beds, Pediatric beds support was provided."<br />''<br />''The Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology from Dr. Chandramma Dayananda Sagar Institute of Medical Education and Research Dr.N Shivamurthy has said that the vaccine supplied by the Central Government saved many lives.<br />''<br />''The Central Government of India ensured all 125 crores of people living in India are protected against Covid 19 disease by supplying around 200 crore doses of vaccines free of cost.<br />''<br />''Cowin mobile application developed by the Government of India is considered as the most advanced method of health care delivery. This is even appreciated by WHO and by other international communities."  <br />'' <br />''Dr.Namratha Umesh who is a dentist by profession and worked as part of an NGO during the second wave of the pandemic says that home care and tele-medicine provided much-needed solace to the Covid positive patients.<br />''<br />''Home treatment and telemedicine became a key weapon in defeating Covid Virus in the second and third wave. So with the NGO called StepOne, I started working.<br />''<br />''If we found that the patient really needed hospitalisation by monitoring the oxygen level and their symptoms, we used to immediately synchronise with the Covid war room and then we used to immediately arrange a bed for them in the nearest hospital and we used to shift the patient and this way we saw to that many patients go well in their respective homes."<br />''<br />''The pandemic had posed a challenge to our health system and it was through concerted effort of the Central and State Governments that India was successful in facing the challenge.</span><br />