Centre flags concern over low Covid tests; vaccination in nine states including AP

Vijayawada: With an fresh upsurge in Covid cases, the Centre has flagged concern over low numbers of Covid tests and vaccination in nine states including AP -- comprising 115 districts.

Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level review in New Delhi on Wednesday vis-à-vis emerging Covid-19 situations in AP, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. These states were either reporting a surge in daily cases or a rise in positivity rate.

Bhushan urged the states to take up critical Covid control and management strategies. Accordingly, all districts reporting higher positivity rate need to scale up the daily number of testing with a higher proportion of RT PCR tests. There is a need to effectively and strictly monitor home isolation cases to avoid mingling of infected persons with others and spread of infection.

The states are advised to conduct surveillance as per revised strategy and asked to report district-wise severe acute respiratory illness and influenza-like illness cases on a daily basis and to test international arrivals with genome sequencing of all positive cases.

The states are asked to send positive samples from large clusters/outbreaks in the community and unusual events for whole genome sequencing.

The Centre asked the states to accelerate the administration of ongoing free Covid-19 vaccination for the first and second precaution dose and to intensify giving free precaution doses for the 18-plus population under ‘Covid Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav’ up to September 30.

The Centre noticed that the average Covid tests per million population is below the national average in AP, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh.

The conduct of RT-PCR tests is very low in Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam while it is below national average in Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal. These states are asked to enhance RT-PCR tests and improve their average daily tests per million population.

NITI Aayog member (health) Dr Vinod Paul expressed concern over the surge in Covid cases in nine states in the last one month and urged them to improve Covid testing in areas of high positivity rate, increase surveillance and speed up vaccination.