Amid the recent spike in cases, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday issued new guidelines for Covid control which will be effective from April 1 to 30. A new Test-Track-Treat protocol will be a part of the new guidelines.
“Keeping in view a fresh surge in Covid-19 cases, which is being witnessed in some parts of the country, the guidelines mandate the state/UT governments to strictly enforce the Test-Track-Treat protocol in all parts of the country; ensure observance of Covid-appropriate behaviour by everyone; and, to scale up the vaccination drive, to cover all the target groups,” the MHA said.
As per the new protocol, contacts have to be traced at the earliest and similarly isolated or quarantined. “States and UTs, where the proportion of RT-PCR tests is less, should rapidly increase it, to reach the prescribed level of 70 percent or more. The new positive cases, detected as a result of intensive testing, need to be isolated/quarantined at the earliest and provide timely treatment,” the MHA said in a press release.
“The main focus of the guidelines is to consolidate the substantial gains achieved in containing the spread of Covid-19, which was visible in the sustained decline in the number of active cases, continuously for about five months,” the ministry explained.
The ministry also emphasised that in order to ensure that the resumption of activities is successful and to fully
overcome the pandemic, there is a need to strictly follow the prescribed containment strategy, and strictly observe the guidelines/SOPs issued by MHA and health ministry and other ministries/departments of the central government and state/UT governments.
The MHA also instructed, “State/ UT governments shall take all necessary measures to promote Covid-19 appropriate behaviour in workplaces and in public, especially in crowded places. For strict enforcement of wearing of face masks, hand hygiene and social distancing, states and UTs may consider administrative actions, including the imposition of appropriate fines.”
States and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may also impose local restrictions at the district/sub-district and city/ward level, with a view to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The ministry also spoke about the ongoing Covid vaccinations. “While the vaccination drive is proceeding smoothly, the pace is uneven across different states and UTs, and the slow pace of vaccination in some states/ UTs is a matter of concern. Vaccination against Covid-19, in the present scenario, is critical to break the chain of transmission.”
All state/UT governments have been advised to step up the pace of vaccination, to cover all priority groups in an expeditious manner. Everyone above the age of 45 years can also get themselves vaccinated from April 1.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar announced, “It has been decided that from 1st April, the vaccine will open for everybody above 45 years of age. We request that all eligible should immediately register and get vaccinated.”
He further added that as per advice by scientists and world scientist bodies, the second dose vaccines can be administered between the fourth and eighth week, particularly for Covishield.
In a press release, the Union Health Ministry said that in view of the emerging scientific evidence, the interval between two doses of a specific Covid-19 vaccine example Covishield has been revisited by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and subsequently by National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) in its 20th meeting.
Over 2.7 lakh people were administered the Covid-19 vaccine in the worst-affected state of Maharashtra on Monday, raising the total number of people inoculated in the state to 45,91,401 on Tuesday.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 4.72 crores with 19,65,635 doses being given on Monday, the Union Health Ministry said.
Meanwhile, India recorded 46,951 new coronavirus cases and 212 fatalities on Monday, pushing the country’s tally past 1.16 crore cases and taking the death toll to 1.59 lakh. This was the highest single-day spike in cases since early November.
Delhi saw as many as 888 fresh coronavirus cases on Monday. With this, the tally of Covid-19 cases in the national capital reached over 648,000, while the death toll mounted to 10,963.
113 new coronavirus positive cases and 82 recoveries were reported in Odisha. The total number of cases is now at 3,39,076, including 3,36,206 recoveries and 898 recoveries. The death toll stands at 1,919.
Kerala logged 1,985 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the caseload to just over 11 lakh, while 10 more deaths pushed the toll to 4,517.
Telangana reported 412 new cases in the last 24 hours. The fresh cases pushed the state’s cumulative tally to 3,03,867.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS