Health Ministry advises 6 states to ensure adequate Covid testing amid rise in cases

|HT|

Amid a rise in coronavirus cases, the Union health ministry wrote to seven states - Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Telangana - and asked them to ensure adequate testing, promote Covid-appropriate behaviour and increase the pace of vaccination to curb further spread of the viral infection in a prompt and effective manner.

Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, in a letter to these seven states, cautioned against high chances of transmissibility of infectious diseases due to the upcoming festivals and mass congregations in different parts of the country.

He also directed these states to ramp up testing while maintaining the recommended share of RT-PCR and antigen tests. Districts reporting higher cases should be monitored vigilantly to prevent further spread of infection and effective case management, Bhushan stressed in the letter dated August 5.

"Renewed attention needs to be paid for ensuring Covid-appropriate behaviour in crowded places like markets, inter-state bus stands, schools, colleges, railway stations, etc," he said.

He requested states to ensure effective compliance with the revised surveillance strategy for Covid-19 which has been shared by the Union ministry of health and family welfare.

"In view of some changes in symptoms and clinical manifestation of the disease, it is crucial to monitor and report district-wise influenza-like illness (ILI) and SARI cases in all health facilities as per the guidelines, on a regular basis for detecting early warning signals of the spread of infection. This will enable us to take pre-emptive action if required, in any areas of concern," he said.

India on Saturday reported 19,406 new coronavirus infections. This took the overall tally to 4,41,26,994, while active cases declined to 1,34,793. Delhi has contributed 8.2 per cent of India's weekly new cases in the week ending August 5 and has also recorded 1.86 times increase in average daily new cases from 802 in the week ending July 29 to 1,492 in the week ending August 5. Meanwhile, Kerala reported 2,347 average cases per day in the past month and Maharashtra 2,135 cases.

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