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Centre deploys expert teams to 10 states showing rapid surge in covid cases
The teams will be sent to Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Punjab. They will be stationed for 3-5 days, working with state health authorities.
The 10 states that have seen a surge in Covid-19 infections will have multidisciplinary teams from the Centre overseeing the situation, the health ministry said through a directive from its disaster management cell.
“In view of the rapid surge in cases, and deaths, because of Covid-19… noted in internal reviews, it has been seen that the number of Omicron cases has emerged in some states. It has also been observed that the pace of Covid-19 vaccination in these states is less than the national average,” according to an office memorandum of the ministry on Friday seen by HT.
“In wake of this situation, a decision has been taken to deploy multidisciplinary central teams to 10 identified states, some of which are either reporting an increasing number of Omicron and Covid-19 cases, or slow vaccination pace, to aid the efforts of the state and district administration for management of Covid-19.”
The teams will be sent to Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Punjab. They will be stationed for 3-5 days, working with state health authorities.
The teams have been tasked to look at contact tracing, including surveillance; containment operations; Covid-19 testing, including sending of adequate samples from clusters to the government’s INSACOG lab network for genome sequencing; Covid-appropriate behaviour and its enforcement; availability of hospital beds, sufficient logistics including ambulances, ventilators, medical oxygen, etc.; and progress of vaccinations.
“The state-level central teams will assess the situation, suggest remedial actions and submit a report every evening by 7 pm on the public health activities being undertaken to the disaster management cell besides submitting the same to state government…,” the order read.
Although the number of new daily cases is declining, India’s Covid-19 case positivity rate remains at 5.3%. A case positivity rate of below 5% for two weeks is necessary to contain any outbreak.
“There are regional variations, as some states are still reporting a very high number of cases. What is the cause for concern for us is that the case positivity rate in Kerala, which is 6.1%, and Mizoram (8.2%),” health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Friday during the ministry’s pandemic briefing. “Compared to the national case positivity rate, both the states are showing very high case positivity.”
India has so far has administered first vaccine doses to at least 89% of the adult population, and around 61% is fully vaccinated. There still are at least 11 states that have vaccinated a lower number of people than the national average, for both the first and second doses, according to the health ministry.
“We have engaged with these states on a continuous basis, and last such review was held on Thursday where it was discussed how to increase the coverage,” Bhushan said on Friday.
The central teams will review all parameters, and look to plug the gap along with the local administration.
“The health ministry has rushed teams in the past to states, which seem to have been reporting higher cases or deaths, or inadequate testing related to Covid,” a health ministry official said on condition of anonymity. “These teams act as a guiding force on the ground, and their feedback helps in effective use of strategies to manage the pandemic.”
