Advised to Monitor Case Positivity, Doubling Rate, Clusters of New Cases across Districts
New Delhi: The Centre has advised States to maintain their preparedness for fighting COVID19 in view of the new variant Omicron.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan reviewed the public health preparedness of the States for fighting COVID19 and the Omicron variant along with the progress of vaccination with Health Secretaries and NHM MDs of States and UTs, through video conference (VC) here on Thursday.
Bhandari highlighted the trajectory of COVID and brought attention to emerging evidence on the Omicron variant of COVID-19 driving the growing number of cases worldwide.
Union Health Secretary suggested states to impose night curfews and ensure strict regulation of large gatherings, especially ahead of the forthcoming festivities.
Bhandari reiterated that local containment measures are to be put in place by the local administration when either the test positivity increases beyond 10 percent or occupancy of oxygenated beds increases beyond 40 percent. However, based on the local situation and population characteristics such as density etc., and keeping in mind the higher transmissibility of Omicron, States can undertake containment measures and impose restrictions even before these thresholds are reached. Any restriction must be enforced for a minimum of 14 days, they were advised. As syndromes of the Omicron variant closely mimic common cold with a higher rate of transmissibility and doubling time, a syndromic approach for COVID containment can be employed.
