Omicron: Do not wait for things to get out of hand, Centre tells states

Hyderabad: The Centre on Tuesday told all states not to wait for Covid-19 cases to reach 'threshold levels', and initiate containment measures to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus among the population.

In a letter to Chief Secretaries of all states, the Union health ministry told the states to "activate the war rooms and keep analyzing all trends and surges," of Covid cases. It said: "No matter how small," such surges must be met with "proactive action" at the district and local levels.

The containment measures recommended by the Centre include imposition of night curfew, strict regulation of large gatherings, curtailing numbers in marriages and funerals, restricting numbers in offices, industries, and in public transport.

However, health officials in the state said there were no immediate plans to set up containment zones as the situation does not warrant it.

"ln case of all new clusters of Covid positive cases, prompt notification of 'containment zones', 'buffer zones' should be done, strict perimeter control of containment zone as per guidelines must be ensured," Rajesh Bhushan, secretary, health ministry, said in his letter to the Chief Secretaries.

He said the template provided by the Centre for stepping up action to contain Covid-19 is only a 'normative framework'. "However, based on the local situation and population characteristics such as density etc., and keeping in mind the higher transmissibility of Omicron, States and Union Territories can take containment measures and restrictions even before these thresholds are reached," he said.

The standard operating procedure of the framework for action at the district level says steps can be taken for containment if the test positivity is 10% or more for a week, or bed occupancy of 40% or more on oxygen supported or ICU beds. The guidelines say that if either parameter is met in any district, then district level containment measures and restrictions should be immediately imposed.

Bhushan said Omicron was at least 3 times more contagious than other Coronavirus variants and hence, there was a greater need for dynamic decision making and strict and prompt containment action at district and local levels. The decision making must be very prompt and focused, he said.