New Delhi : The Central Government on Thursday released Rs 890.32 crore as the second instalment of the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package to 22 states and union territories.
The financial assistance is based on the COVID-19 caseload in these regions.
The second instalment will be used for strengthening the public health facilities infrastructure for testing including procurement and installation of RT-PCR machines, RNA extraction kits, TRUNAT and CBNAAT machines and BSL-II cabinets.
The states which were given financial assistance include Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Sikkim.
The aid will also be used to strengthen the public health facilities infrastructure for treatment and development of ICU beds, installation of oxygen generators, cryogenic oxygen tanks and medical gas pipelines in public health facilities and procurement of oxygen concentrators, and engagement, training and capacity building of necessary Human Resources and incentives to healthcare workforce and volunteers, including ASHAs, on COVID duties.