Union Health Secretary Shri Sudhansh Pant on Monday, December 18, urged the states to keep a constant watch over the COVID situation in the country.
The development unfolded following the recent upsurge of COVID-19 cases in the country. Moreover, the detection of the first case of the JN.1 variant in India has propelled the health ministry to keep a vigil on the rising threat.
Pant observed that “due to consistent and collaborative actions between the center and state governments,” the trajectory has been sustained at low rates.
“However, as the COVID-19 virus continues to circulate and its epidemiology behavior gets settled with Indian weather conditions and the circulation of other usual pathogens, it is important to keep the momentum going effectively to deal with the challenges in public health,” he said in a press note.
Guidelines for states and UTs
- States were urged to spread awareness and make necessary arrangements to decrease the transmission of the disease.
- Ensure effective compliance with the detailed operational guidelines for the revised surveillance strategy for COVID-19 as shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- Monitor and report district-wise influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) cases in all health facilities on a regular basis to detect the early rising trend of cases.
- Ensure adequate testing in all the districts as per COVID-19 testing guidelines.
- Increase the number of RT-PCR tests and send positive samples for genome sequencing to Indian SARS COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories to enable timely detection of new variants.
- States are also to promote community awareness to seek their continued support in managing COVID-19, including adherence to respiratory hygiene.
- States are to ensure the active participation of all public and private health facilities in the drill being conducted by the Union Health Ministry and to take stock of their preparedness and response capacities.
Attempt to create panic
Meanwhile, Kerala Health Minister Veena George refuted the claims of an upsurge of COVID and called it an attempt to create panic.
“Some vested interests are trying to spread panic over the spread of COVID. The fact of the matter is that authorities are constantly watching things, and all things are in place. From November onwards, samples are promptly being sent for testing,” the minister told The News Minute.
Adding that “last month, among the samples that were sent for testing, one sample of a 79-year-old man tested from the capital district turned positive for the JN1 variant. He was under home isolation, has been cured, and is fine.”
“Incidentally, last month, Singapore identified 15 people who traveled from India as positive for JN1, and this means that this variant is present in other states, but in Kerala, due to our protocols, we were able to identify it. All our systems are in place, and from December 13 to 16, a drill was conducted in 1,192 hospitals across the state to assess the availability of facilities. At the moment, we have 1,957 beds, 2,454 ICU beds, and 937 ventilator beds. Hence, there need be no worry,” George said.
