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Centre writes to Ladakh, Puducherry as Covid-19 cases see spurt
The letter written by additional secretary of the Union ministry of health and family welfare, Arti Ahuja, highlighted the districts in both the Union territories where weekly cases are on the rise while laying down measures to be adopted to control the situation.
Owing to a rise in weekly cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), its testing and positivity rate, the Union health and family welfare ministry has written to the administration of the Union territories (UTs) of Ladakh and Puducherry, urging them to adopt pre-emptive action to tackle the situation.
In a letter to the principal secretary (health) of Ladakh this week, additional secretary of Union health ministry Arti Ahuja said the Union territory has witnessed a 362% rise in weekly cases — from only 34 cases in the week ending on October 27 to as many as 157 in the one concluding on November 17.
“Leh district has exhibited a significant increase of more than 362% in weekly new cases from 35 in the week ending on October 27 to 139 in the week ending on November 17. This is especially concerning given the geographical expanse of the district,” Ahuja wrote in the letter, according to news agency PTI.
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The government official also noted that the “basic public health strategy” of testing, tracking, treatment, covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccination is “not followed rigorously.”
“The current trends of decrease in RT-PCR testing, increase in new cases and case positivity if left unchecked may lead to a situation where there is severe strain on the health infrastructure and health workforce,” Ahuja’s letter added.
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As far as Puducherry is concerned, the senior government official stated in the letter that the Union territory has recorded a 41.7% rise in weekly cases and the positivity rate has been prominent in multiple districts of the region.
Karaikal, Yanam, Mahe and Pondicherry have specifically shown a sharp rise in weekly fresh infections. “All four districts Karaikal (27.45%), Mahe (1.59%), Pondicherry (32.57%) and Yanam (0.59%) have less RT-PCR contribution than the government mandate of 70%,” the PTI report added, quoting Ahuja’s letter.
What steps have been suggested to the Puducherry and Ladakh administrations?
1. Strict compliance with the basic health strategy, which includes “routine submission of RT-PCR positive samples” from foreign travelers and also from the community for genomic analysis at the designated INSACOG network labs.
2. Collection of positive samples from suspected vaccine breakthrough infections, super-spreader events and clusters of cases, which have high mortality and/or morbidity rate, and sending them to labs.
3. Maintaining sufficient level of Covid-19 testing for “timely detection of cases” across all districts, especially because the festive event is ongoing along with marriages.
4. Prioritising second dose of Covid-19 vaccination and also strict adherence to Covid-appropriate behaviour
5. Daily review of Covid-19 cases and fatalities and promptly communicating “necessary corrective measures” to the concerned teams across the UT.
6. Consistency in updating information pertaining to Covid-19 should be maintained by all districts of both Ladakh and Puducherry.
