New variant spreading three times faster.
Dispatch News.
Raipur. The government’s concern has increased due to the increasing cases of Omicron across the country. Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan warned the states of new danger. The new variant, Omicron, of Coronavirus is spreading three times faster. The Union Health Secretary has directed to send all samples from the new clusters of Covid for genome sequencing. He has also asked to take measures like a ban on public events and night curfew for prevention.
The Union Health Secretary has said in his letter, the data coming positive at the district level should be continuously reviewed based on corona affected population, geographical spread, the infrastructure of hospitals and its use, containment zones. This should be the basis for effective decision making at the district level. Such a strategy ensures that control before it spreads. States have been asked to test more than 10% positive reports in the past week.
Apart from this, control measures must start if 40% of oxygenated or ICU beds get filled. If the Coronavirus infection spreads in the new cluster, it should be immediately declared as a containment zone. All the positive samples of such clusters should be sent to the lab for genome sequencing to identify the Omicron variant. Such areas should enforce Night curfews, restrictions on gatherings, and restrictions on people attending events such as weddings and funerals.
The Union Health Secretary has also sent the identification of some key areas of intervention to the states. He has emphasized containment, testing and trekking. Apart from this, there is an emphasis on clinical surveillance, vaccination and adopting appropriate behaviour for Covid.