The Union health ministry on Saturday advised states and Union Territories to set up makeshift hospitals to deal with a possible surge in coronavirus cases, ANI reported.

The instruction comes at a time when coronavirus cases have been rising sharply in many parts of the country. India on Sunday reported 27,553 new Covid-19 cases, a 20.97% rise from Saturday’s count of 22,775 cases. Since last week, the cases have risen by 294%.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, on Saturday, in a letter, also advised them to set up special teams to monitor patients in home isolation.

The health secretary said that state governments could create makeshift hospitals in co-ordination with the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and with the private sector and non-governmental organisations.

“States may also consider leveraging hotel rooms and other accommodations linked with the Covid dedicated hospitals in government and private sector to cater to patients having mild to moderate symptoms of Covid-19, as was done in some States during the earlier surge in cases,” the letter said.

Bhushan noted that many Covid-19 patients would be eligible for home isolation. “These cases would require effective follow-up and a clearly defined mechanism for prompt shifting to a health facility in case of deterioration in their health situation,” he said.

The Union health secretary called on states to monitor the implementation of the home isolation protocol.

Bhushan asked states to ensure that Covid-19 control rooms at local levels are functional. “A clearly defined mechanism to access testing, ambulance and hospital beds needs to be put in place and communicated to the public at large,” he said.

States and union territories were also advised to ensure the preparedness of dedicated Covid-19 infrastructure, and to ensure a sufficient number of quarantine facilities.

The health secretary, along with Indian Council of Medical Research chief Balram Bhargava, had written to state governments on December 31 as well, asking them to ramp up rapid antigen tests in situations where administering RT-PCR tests poses challenges.

The officials advised states to set up multiple booths for round-the-clock rapid antigen tests. They also asked states to permit such testing at government and private hospitals, including all districts hospitals and primary healthcare centres.

India on Sunday morning recorded 27,553 new Covid-19 cases and 284 deaths. The country has 1,22,801 patients who are being treated, according to the Union health ministry’s data.

The toll due to Covid-19 rose to 4,81,770 and a total of 3,48,89,132 have been reported in the country so far. As many as 3,42,84,561 patients have recovered from the disease.

India’s Omicron variant tally has reached 1,525, with Maharashtra reporting the most number of cases at 460, followed by Delhi (351) and Gujarat (136).