India: Centre alerts states over omicron variant, asks to continue monitoring hotspots

The countries from where the variant of concern has been found as already been identified by the Centre as “at-risk” countries for additional follow-up measures of international travelers coming to India, health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote in the letter addressed to all chief secretaries.

In the wake of the new Covid variant, omicron, triggering apprehension across the world, the Centre has alerted states and Union territories and asked to step up testing, vigilance, containment and vaccine coverage.

In a letter written to the chief secretaries of all states and Union territories, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said states need to continue monitoring the Covid hotspots. In a proactive stance, the countries from where the variant of concern has been found as already been identified by the Centre as “at-risk” countries for additional follow-up measures of international travelers coming to India, the health ministry said.

The new variant, believed to be more transmissible and immune-evasive, has prompted countries to impose travel restrictions. Apart from Botswana, Hong Kong, South Africa, the new variant has now been detected in the UK, Australia, Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, Isreal, the Netherlands etc.

“lt is essential that the disease surveillance network in the country is geared up for rigorous follow up of all international travelers from all countries especially countries designated as “At-Risk”. There is already a reporting mechanism for obtaining past travel details of passengers coming through international flights this should be reviewed at your level and the protocol provided by this Ministry should be strictly ensured including testing on disembarkation of international travelers coming from “At Risk” Countries and sending all positive samples for genome sequencing to INSACOG Labs in a prompt manner,” the health secretary wrote in his letter.

Emphasizing the need to strengthen testing infrastructure, the health ministry 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,” Rajesh Bhushan wrote.

States should continue monitoring Covi hotspots, areas where a recent cluster of positive cases have emerged. “ln all such “hotspots”, saturation testing and sending of positive samples quickly for genome sequencing to designated INSACOG Labs must be ensured,” the ministry wrote. States should also aim at achieving a positivity rate of below 5%, the ministry stressed.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES