By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, December 22 : Odisha government on Wednesday set the target to achieve 100 per cent inoculation by January 15, 2022 by holding COVID-19 vaccination camps in villages.

Chief secretary S C Mohapatra issued the direction in this regard while reviewing the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state with district collectors in the virtual.

Mohapatra asked the district collectors to remain “extremely vigilant” against Omicron, the new variant, an official release said.

He asked district collectors and the chief district medical officers to intensify testing, vaccination and enforcement at the field level, it said.

The meeting was held a day after the state reported its median Omicron cases.

The review found that 88.2 per cent of those above 18 years of age have been administered the first dose and around 86 per cent of them have taken their second jab. Around 99.8 per cent of the health care workers and front line workers have been vaccinated.

The chief secretary directed district authorities to prepare village wise vaccination chart and inform the villagers in advance through the panchayats, ward members, Anganwadi, ASHA and heath workers so that those in the 18 years and above age group, who form the working population, can make their arrangements for vaccination.

Mohapatra also directed the district authorities to stay prepared for combating the possible spread of Omicron, the new COVID-19 variant.

He also asked the district authorities to remain prepared with necessary medicines, oxygen cylinders, beds, ICUs and ventilators in all government hospitals. The oxygen plants must be kept in good running condition.

He asked health and family welfare department to give advance intimation to private hospitals about requirement of their services like in the earlier two waves of Covid-19. The private hospitals should be ready to provide it.

Additional chief secretary, health and family welfare, R K Sharma emphasized on awareness and enforcement of COVID-19 appropriate behavior. It was decided to enhance per day testing number to 70,000 and accordingly the district targets were fixed, he said.

The chief secretary directed the collectors and superintendents of police to strictly enforce the COVID norms and maintain rules regarding the number of people participating in weddings, cremation and other rituals. They were also asked to enforce COVID appropriate behavior in market places, industrial centers and other public places.

Testing teams were directed to undertake random testing of the disease at public places, the statement said.