New Delhi: Given the recent surge in COVID-19 cases in some States and Union Territories in India and the detection of the first case of the new JN.1 variant of the virus, Sudhansh Pant, Union Health Secretary today highlighted the need for maintaining a state of constant vigil over the COVID situation in the country. JN.1, a new strain of COVID-19 was found in Karakulam, in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala on December 8, 2023, making India the third country after the United States of America and China where this variant, which experts say may not be as fatal as the earlier variants, has been discovered.
In a letter to the States and UTs, the Health Secretary warned that as the COVID-19 virus continues to circulate and its epidemiology behaviour gets settled with Indian weather conditions and circulation of other usual pathogens, “it is important to keep the momentum going to effectively deal with the challenges in public health”.
Pant underlined that “due to consistent and collaborative actions between Centre and the State Governments, “we have been able to sustain the trajectory at sustainable low rates”.
The Union Health Secretary further underlined the critical COVID control and management strategies as mentioned below:
- Considering the upcoming festive season, States are advised to put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimize the risk of an increase in transmission of the disease by adherence to the maintenance of respiratory hygiene.
- States are urged to ensure effective compliance with the detailed operational guidelines for the revised surveillance strategy for COVID-19 as has been shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- States are asked to monitor and report District-wise Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in all health facilities regularly including in the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal, for detecting the early rising trend of cases.
- States are advised to ensure adequate testing in all the districts as per COVID-19 testing guidelines and maintain the recommended share of RT-PCR and Antigen tests.
- States are encouraged to increase the number of RT-PCR tests and send positive samples for genome sequencing to Indian SARS COV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories to enable timely detection of new variants, if any, in the country.
- States should ensure active participation of all public and private health facilities in the drill being conducted by the Union Health Ministry, to take stock of their preparedness and response capacities.
- States also should promote community awareness to seek their continued support in managing COVID-19, including adherence to respiratory hygiene.
– global bihari bureau
