Centre Readying Second Emergency Covid Response Preparedness Package Of Rs 20,000 Crore

The Government is said to be preparing a second Emergency Covid Response Preparedness (ECRP-2) package of over Rs 20,000 crore to minimise the impact of a possible third wave of the ongoing pandemic, reports Economic Times.

The details of the said package are still said to be being worked out by the Union Ministries of Health and Finance and the same will likely be announced after they get the Cabinet's nod.

It will focus on augmenting Covid dedicated treatment facilities, including ramping up the number of hospital beds, strengthening procurement of essential medical equipment and drugs, bolstering the national and the state health infrastructure, and setting up more laboratories and testing centres across the country.

This gains significance as the development comes at a time when the country is witnessing the emergence of another new variant called Delta Plus. The variant has already been termed a "variant of concern" by the Government.

So far, the cases of the Delta Plus variant have been concentrated in states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala.