New Delhi [India], August 26 (ANI): Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh on Wednesday held a virtual review meeting with medical directors and medical superintendents of Delhi government hospitals to assess preparedness for H1N1, seasonal influenza and other respiratory illnesses.

During the meeting, attended by senior officials of the Health Department, the minister reviewed the availability of emergency services, isolation facilities, testing arrangements, medicines and other essential resources across hospitals.

Singh directed hospitals to further strengthen their preparedness by setting up dedicated flu corners, ensuring adequate isolation beds, maintaining sufficient stocks of medicines and ensuring 24x7 availability of doctors and medical staff.

Hospitals were instructed to keep at least five isolation beds ready, while larger hospitals were asked to ensure 10 or more isolation beds for managing influenza and vector-borne disease cases. Special focus was also laid on timely care and monitoring of children and elderly patients.

The Health Minister also directed hospitals to ensure immediate testing of patients showing influenza-like symptoms and maintain adequate availability of testing materials, including Viral Transport Medium (VTM), for sample collection.

According to the Delhi government, 138 fresh H1N1 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the national capital in 2026 to 2,446. The total number of Influenza-A cases reported so far stands at 3,177.

Pankaj Kumar Singh assured citizens that there was no need to panic, stating that most patients visiting hospitals had reported mild fever and common symptoms and recovered within one or two days.

'The purpose of this review meeting was to further strengthen hospital preparedness and ensure that every facility is capable of handling any situation effectively. Our doctors and medical teams are working with dedication, and we have reviewed the availability of beds, testing facilities, medicines and emergency services,' the minister said.

He urged citizens to follow preventive measures, including maintaining hand hygiene, wearing masks properly, practising respiratory hygiene and avoiding crowded places if they show flu-like symptoms.

The Health Department said it is continuously monitoring influenza trends and ensuring adequate testing facilities, isolation capacity, medicine availability and uninterrupted emergency services across Delhi government hospitals and health centres. (ANI)