The Health Ministry has written a letter to the state governments saying that it is extremely difficult to ascertain the exact level of infection in the absence of adequate testing.
Noting the decline in the proportion of RT-PCR tests along with overall testing in some states, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on November 28 directed that “adequate testing infrastructure should be commissioned to deal with any surge due to omicrons.” is required. covid virus,
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The ministry has written a letter to the state governments saying that it is extremely difficult to ascertain the exact level of spread of infection in the absence of adequate testing.
“States should strengthen the testing infrastructure and strictly implement the testing guidelines,” Mr Bhushan said.
He said that as a proactive step, the central government has already placed countries from where such Version of Concern (VOC) for additional follow-up measures for international travelers arriving in India as ‘at risk’ countries. category has been found. Country.
The ministry also said that in view of the potential threat to the nation from this VOC, it is imperative that intensive containment, proactive surveillance, increased coverage of vaccinations and COVID-appropriate practices be implemented very actively in the region. needed. Ways to manage this VOC effectively.
Coronavirus Update – November 28, 2021
The letter said that it is essential that the disease surveillance network in the country is ready for rigorous follow-up of all international travelers from all countries, especially all international travelers from countries designated as “at-risk”.
The ministry said that there is already a reporting mechanism for getting past travel details of passengers arriving through international flights and added that this should be reviewed and the protocols provided by the health ministry should be strictly ensured , which includes testing on disembarkation of international passengers. -Risk” country.
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“All positive samples for genome sequencing should be promptly sent to Insacog Labs,” the letter said.
Emphasizing on the need for monitoring of hotspots, the ministry said that in all “hotspots”, the sending of positive samples for saturation testing and genome sequencing to designated INSACOG laboratories will be ensured in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the National Center for Disease Control. should be done. (NCDC). States have also been asked to closely monitor the emerging trend of cases and positivity in an area and delineate the hotspots quickly for effective containment.
Directing that states should aim to achieve less than 5% positivity with a focus on increasing the number of tests and increasing the share of RT-PCR tests, the ministry said to ensure adequate availability of health facilities across the state. It is necessary for – so that there is no delay in treatment.
“Trained human resources, infrastructure, logistics and procurement should be planned and strengthened in view of the geographical spread of the pandemic and no compromise will be made in providing prompt quality treatment to the patients. The states are requested to make better use of the financial assistance provided by the central government,” the letter added.
The ministry has also asked states to conduct peer briefings regularly to help promote COVID-appropriate behavior and vaccination.
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