New Delhi: Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to the chief secretaries and administrators of all states and Union Territories stating the 27 districts in 10 states and Union Territories reporting high Covid positive rates in the past two weeks need to be monitored very closely.
“In this context, it is imperative for all States/UTs to maintain a strict watch on the situation with focused district level measures for containment of clusters of new positive cases as per the guidelines,” said Bhushan.
“In case of any district reporting a surge in cases or rise in positivity rates, intensive action and local containment as per the contentment framework must be initiated,” he added.
The Health Secretary said the strategic containment interventions in identified areas in case of Covid clusters, include night curfews, restricting gathering of people, congregation and curtailing attendees in marriages and funerals, ANI reported.
Bhushan further said the testing and surveillance interventions include ramping up testing and active case search, testing of all ILI (influenza-like illness) and SARI (severe acute respiratory infections) cases through Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) and re-testing by RTPCR of symptomatic RAT negative tests.
“Strict adherence to COVID appropriate behaviour at all places and at all times must also be rigorously enforced and aggressively monitored. Adequate advance information to community highlighting the need for stringent containment actions to achieve community involvement and support are also mandated in the framework issued by MoHFW (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare),” Bhushan said.
“The aforesaid actions may also be reviewed regularly at your level to ensure strict adherence to MHA and MoHFW Guidelines,” he added.