New Delhi, (Samajweekly) Amidst a surge in coronavirus cases in Punjab and Chandigarh, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting to review the status of Covid-19, and public health measures taken for surveillance, containment and management by local health authorities.
Punjab has reported nearly 21 per cent week-on-week increase in new cases and around an average of 2,740 daily cases in the last seven days. During the same time period, the state has also seen a 30 per cent week-on-week increase in new deaths, reporting about 53 average daily deaths.
Chandigarh also followed similar pattern in the last week. The Union Territory has reported nearly 27 per cent week-on-week increase in new cases and 180 per cent week-on-week increase in new daily deaths. An average of about 257 daily cases and 14 daily deaths have been reported during the last week.
In wake of the situation, the Union Health Secretary chaired the meeting along with NITI Aayog’s Member, Health, Dr V.K. Paul, the state’s Principal Secretary (Health), the Mission Director, NHM, the State Surveillance Officer of Punjab and Chandigarh and all District Collectors, District Magistrates, and Municipal Commissioners.
Through a detailed presentation, a granular analysis of the highly-affected districts in Punjab and the UT, along with some key statistics was presented.
Paul emphasised the importance of stringent and continued measures to break the chain of transmission and not fritter away the gains of collaborative efforts of last year.
Increased testing with focus on RT-PCR tests, effective contact tracing with at least 25 to 30 close contacts of each positive case, strict implementation of containment zones, intensification of vaccination drive, and enforcement of social distancing measures were highlighted as the pivot of an effective management strategy.
All district officers and the local administration in Punjab and Chandigarh were advised to refocus on effective house-to-house surveillance to identify active cases with focus on timely testing, prompt contact tracing and swift isolation so as to break the chain of transmission.
It was also re-emphasised to strengthen public and private hospital infrastructure and reenergise the healthcare workers for removal of any complacency and fatigue.
Three fronts for tackling the recent surge were highlighted by the Union Health Secretary. On the front of testing, the state and UT were asked to effectively implement the “Test, Track and Treat” strategy; to escalate testing till the positivity comes down below 5 per cent.
The state officials have been asked to significantly increase testing in all districts with a minimum of 70 per cent RT-PCR tests and use of Rapid Antigen Tests as screening tests in densely-populated areas as well as areas where cluster of cases are reported.
Regarding vaccination, the state and the UT were advised to ensure priority vaccination of the eligible population groups in districts reporting higher cases, and transfer of unused vaccine doses from one district to another for optimum utilisation of available vaccine doses.
It was also urged that no sedimentation of vaccine should take place at any level of cold chain storage and there should be maximum utilisation of vaccination capacity in the public and private sector health facilities.
“There are no shortages of vaccination at the state/UT level. The Centre is regularly reviewing vaccine stocks, and vaccine doses will be continually replenished by the Centre based on the consumption level of the states/UTs,” the ministry reiterated.
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