New Delhi, Aug 6 : In the midst of rising Covid cases on a daily basis The Centre on Saturday sent a letter to seven states that are experiencing rising cases, asking for adequate testing, and to promote appropriate behavior in the face of Covid. In a letter addressed to Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said: “Upcoming months will likely witness large-scale gatherings in the context of diverse celebrations that will be held in various regions of the nation, which will lead to a lot of individuals making the inter-state and intra-state travel or gathering at the same locations.”
In announcing that this could increase the risk of spread of infections, like Covid-19, he said that it is crucial to ensure that the proper testing is carried out in all districts of the state, while ensuring the recommended proportion of rapid antigen and RT-PCR tests.
“The state also must closely monitor the districts with higher rates of cases, positivity rates and clusters to avoid the spread of disease and ensure effective case management.
“ln view of certain variations in the clinical manifestations of the disease, it’s vital to keep track of and report district-wise lnfluenza-like illness (lLl) and SARI cases in all health facilities, as per guidelines regularly for the detection of early warning signs of the spreading of the infection,” he underlined in the letter.
The sequencing of the genome of the prescribed samples of international travelers as well as the collection of samples from sentinel sites (identified health facilities) and local clusters of new cases of Covid-19 is equally crucial, he added.
The Centre has also urged states to increase the rate of vaccination for all of the eligible population and speed up the distribution of free doses of precautionary vaccines.
The states are also advised to adhere to the five-fold approach, ‘Test-Track- – Treat-Vaccinate’ and adhere to Covid appropriate behaviour within the communities.
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