Test Those With Fever, Sore Throat, Diarrhea, Breathlessness For Covid-19: Centre Tells States

Centre on Covid-19: The letter was written by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava to chief secretaries of all states/UTs.

The Centre has urged 19 states/UTs to ramp up testing 'in a big way' to identify the positive cases promptly (PTI photo)

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry wrote to states on Friday that anyone with fever, headache, sore throat, breathlessness, bodyache, recent loss of taste or smell, fatigue and diarrhea should be considered a suspect case of Covid-19.

The letter was written by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava to chief secretaries of all states/UTs.

"Set up round the clock functional RAT booths at different locations, engage medical and paramedical staff, and encourage the use of home test kits," the letter said.

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"Any individual presenting with fever with/without cough, headache, sore throat, breathlessness, body ache, the recent loss of taste or smell, fatigue, and diarrhea should be considered as a suspect case of COVID-19 unless proven otherwise," it further said.

The Health Ministry said that all those with symptoms should "immediately isolate themselves and follow home isolation guidelines".

On Thursday, the Centre urged 19 states/UTs to ramp up testing "in a big way" to identify the positive cases promptly and restrict the spread of transmission in view of the increased transmissibility of Omicron variant.

More than 1,200 Omicron cases have been detected across 23 states and UTs so far, according to the Union health ministry data.

The Health Ministry has also advised states and UTs to strengthen hospital preparedness, set up containment zones and buffer zones, increase the pace and coverage of vaccination drive and ensure strict enforcement of restrictions to counter the Covid-19 spread.

On Friday, India recorded 16,764 fresh Covid-19 cases and 220 more fatalities. The daily rise in the number of cases crossed the 16,000 mark after 64 days, taking the country's Covid-19 tally to 3,48,38,804, while the number of active cases of the infection has gone up to 91,361.