New Delhi: Union minister for health and family welfare Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday asked the officials of the state governments to resort to the ‘test-track-treat-vaccinate & adherence to COVID appropriate behaviour’ strategy to minimise the risk of coronavirus spread.
Interacting with the health ministers and departmental heads of different states and Union Territories (UTs) virtually from Delhi, the minister said urged them to expeditiously increase the rate of testing from the current rate of 79 tests per million with emphasis on RT-PCR in tests.
“The Centre and states need to work in tandem and in a collaborative spirit as was done during the previous surges for COVID19 prevention and management,” said the Union minister, while referring to the high-level meeting on covid chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday in view of sudden rise in Covid cases in various countries.
The states were requested to continue with pre-emptive & proactive approach and strengthen the surveillance system for whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants through Indian SARS-CoV-2 genomics consortium (INSACOG) network to ensure timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country.
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The MoHFW categorically told the states to focus on health facility-based sentinel surveillance; pan-respiratory virus surveillance; community-based surveillance; and sewage/wastewater surveillance. “We need to collectively reinvigorate the system & remove any sense of complacency and fatigue,” Mandaviya stressed.
Puducherry chief minister N Rangaswamy, Tripura CM Manik Saha, Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, Rajasthan health minister Parsadi Lal Meena, Uttarakhand health minister Dhan Singh Rawat, Jharkhand health minister Banna Gupta, Assam health minister Keshab Mahanta, Karnataka health minister K Sudhakar, Madhya Pradesh health minister Prabhuram Choudhury, Punjab health minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Chattisgarh health minister T S Singh Deo and health ministers of Manipur, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, deputy chief minister (Delhi) joined the high-level review meeting.
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The Union health minister advised states/UTs to ramp up vaccination of all eligible population, especially of the elderly and vulnerable population group. He cautioned against spreading of misinformation by ensuring dissemination of factually correct information in a timely manner. In view of the upcoming festive season, he stressed on the importance of public awareness campaigns regarding adherence to covid appropriate behaviour.
The Union health ministry has already issued operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy in context of COVID-19 in June 2022, which calls for early detection, isolation, testing and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases to detect and contain outbreaks of new SARS-CoV-2 variants.
