The Lok Sabha is discussing the COVID-19 situation from this morning under the House Rule 193. Speaker Om Birla said, in his remarks, that the discussion is timely as there is an emergence of the new variant Omicron. Mr Birla expressed hope that the discussion will be healthy and constructive.<br />'' <br />'' Initiating the discussion, Vinayak Raut of Shivsena thanked the Prime Minister, the Union and State Health Ministers and all Chief Ministers for dealing with the pandemic in an effective manner. He said, even the thickly populated Dharavi of Mumbai which was feared to suffer heavily, took it up as a challenge and showed the world how to fight the pandemic.<br />'' <br />'' However, Mr Raut pointed out that 60 per cent of the ventilators provided under PMCARES funds were not functional and the supplier did not respond to the calls for their repair and service. He remarked that, out of the allocated 1,500 PSA plants only 363 plants are operational in Maharashtra. He demanded that the companies concerned should be punished as they are breaking the trust between government and people.<br />'' <br />'' Mr Raut also demanded reducing the gap between administering the first and second doses of the Covishield vaccines so that the coverage of vaccination could be increased. He also favoured imposing travel restrictions for those who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.<br />'' <br />'' Mr Gaurav Gogoi of the INC said, the under-coverage of people with COVID-19 vaccines remains a big issue adding, there should not be any false sense of security. He pointed out to the acute shortage of oxygen supply in hospitals during the second wave of COVID-19 asking to enhance the infrastructure to boost its supply. He claimed, there has been under-reporting of COVID deaths and said, the stocks of the vaccines lying unused with the private clinics should be put to better use. He also asked about the government's stand on the booster dose.<br />'' <br />'' Dr D.N.V. Senthil Kumar of the DMK said, the variant of high risk, Omicron, is a cause of concern for India also, saying the government should be proactive in curbing it rather than be reactive. He asked for well-coordinated actions to curb the menacing virus, saying, lack of proper planning may lead to miseries to the migrant laborers. He asked the Centre's Vaccines Complex at Chengalpattu in Tamil Nadu that at present lies idle should be permitted to produce vaccines, adding, if the Centre permits, the State Government would start the production.<br />'' <br />'' Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar of the AITC wondered how the virus that causes COVID-19 disease is mutating to such alarming levels as against the conventional wisdom of virus killing itself after a while. The issue of lack of ventilators, oxygen supply and oxygen concentrators as witnessed during the second wave of the pandemic should be avoided, she said.<br />'' <br />'' Doddeti Madhavi of the YSR Congress sought a ban on international flights from high-prevalence countries which are plagued by the Omicron variant. She asked to mobilize more genome sequencing facilities to identify cases of infection due to the new variant.<br />'' <br />'' Achyudananda Samanta of the BJD said, the country showed to the world its capacity to tackle any challenges arising out of the pandemic by effectively checking it, though critics said a populous nation as India would find it difficult to bear its impact and control it.<br />'' Jayadev Galla of the TDP said, lockdown cannot lead to a solution to the issue but only aggravate the situation.<br />'' <br />'' The discussion is currently underway.<br />''  <br />

<span style="color: #222222;">Lok Sabha has taken up discussion on COVID 19 pandemic in the country. Initiating the discussion, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that most of the countries across the world have either managed to keep its country safe from the virus at the cost of their economy or have kept the economy running while experiencing the onslaught of the disease. He said, the spread of the virus has affected the economy of the country and the government should have taken measures to keep the economy afloat. He said, GDP will shrink for the first time in 41 years.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">BJP leader Kirit Solanki highlighted the various steps taken by the Centre to check the spread of coronavirus. He also said the government has also taken care of the vulnerable and poor sections of society by providing financial assistance in the wake of the pandemic.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran criticised the government for imposing lockdown abruptly. The discussion is underway.</span><br />''  <br />