In view of new Covid variant, govt lists measures to be followed by states/UTs

NEW DELHI: In view of the possible threat that Omicron - the SARS-CoV2 variant of concern - can pose to the country, the Centre advised states and UTs to immediately focus on intensive containment, active surveillance, increased vaccination coverage as well as enforcement of Covid appropriate behavior.
Apart from rigorous surveillance of international passengers and enhanced testing, the health ministry has also directed states to monitor hotspots and send positive samples for genome sequencing.
The move came soon after Prime Minister chaired a high-level review meeting on Saturday and asked officials at the Centre to proactively engage with states and UTs.
Immediately after the meeting, health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to all chief secretaries and administrators of states and UTs listing a series of measures in detail that need to be implemented immediately.
“As a proactive step, Government has already placed countries where this VoC has been found in the category of ‘At-Risk’ countries for additional follow up measures of international travellers coming into India from these countries,” Bhushan said in the letter sent to states on Saturday.
The Centre suggested the imperative that all international travellers travelling from and transiting through these countries which are part of the “at risk” country category in the revised guidelines for international arrivals are subjected to rigorous screening and testing. The contacts of these international travellers are also to be closely tracked and tested as per health ministry guidelines.
In his letter to states, Bhushan pointed out that there is already a reporting mechanism for obtaining past travel details of passengers coming through international flights which should be reviewed.
In this regard, a meeting was chaired by the Home Secretary on Sunday where the overall global situation in wake of the Omicron virus was comprehensively reviewed.
The Centre stressed the criticality of “scrupulous implementation and rigorous monitoring” of the three-pronged surveillance strategy of screening and testing international travellers & their contacts, routine sentinel surveillance and surge surveillance, and timely sending of RT- PCR positive samples to designated INSACOG genome sequencing laboratories along with enhanced testing and monitoring of COVID-19 hotspots.
The government has also decided to sensitise Airport Health Officials (APHOs) and Port Health Officials (PHOs) for strict supervision of testing protocol at airports and ports.
“Decision on effective date of resumption of scheduled commercial international passengers service, to be reviewed, as per evolving global scenario. Closer watch on the emerging pandemic situation within the country will be maintained,” an official said.
Bhushan asked states to operationalise adequate testing infrastructure and augment other health facilities to tackle any surge due to this mutated virus. He also said that it has been observed that the overall testing, as well as the proportion of RT-PCR tests, have declined in some states.
“ln the absence of sufficient testing, it is extremely difficult to determine the true level of infection spread. States must strengthen the testing infrastructure and strictly implement the testing guidelines,” he said.
Bhushan also stressed on continued monitoring of hotspots, the areas where a recent cluster of positive cases has emerged.
“In, all such ‘hotspots’, saturation testing and sending of positive samples quickly for genome sequencing to designated INSACOG labs must be ensured in collaboration with Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). States should keep a close check on the emerging trend of cases and the positivity in an area and quickly delineate hotspots for effective containment of Covid-19,” he said.
The health secretary said states should aim at achieving a positivity rate below 5% while focusing on increasing the number of tests and share of RT-PCR tests to aid in early identification.