Centre issues warning to THESE states, asks to follow Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate approach

After Karnataka and Gujarat reported cases of the new variant Omicron, the Central government has written to six states that have had a high number of COVID-19 cases in the past on Saturday raising concern over the spread of infection. These states that include Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha and Mizoram have been asked to follow that Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate approach to minimise the spread of the virus. 

The letters urged the state and UT officials to make sure that there is no laxity in the surveillance of the arrival of foreign nationals especially those coming from ‘at-risk’ countries. They have been asked to determine emerging hotspots and make sure that samples of all COVID-19 patients are sent for genome sequencing. The letters were signed by the Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. 

Orders from the letter include: 

– International travellers to remain under surveillance

– Prompt contact tracing 

– Follow up until 14 days 

– All COVID-19 samples to be sent for genome sequencing to INSACOG Labs

As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India reported around 9,000 cases in the last 24 hours on Saturday. It also reported 415 deaths. The number of recovered patients in the last 24 hours was 8,190. Currently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.35 per cent, the highest since March 2020.