Centre asks states to stay vigilant, step up testing

The health ministry on Monday issued an advisory to states in view of a recent upsurge in Covid-19 cases and detection of the first case of the JN.1 subvariant in the country. States have been asked to maintain constant vigil over the situation and report and monitor district-wise cases of severe acute respiratory infections and influenza-like illnesses.

"No new variant of the virus had been picked up, there are a number of actions that need state government's focus," health secretary Sudhansh Pant said on Monday.

The Centre has asked states to put in place requisite public health measures and other arrangements to minimise the risk of increase in transmission of the disease by adherence to maintenance of respiratory hygiene.

"Ensure effective compliance of the detailed operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy for Covid-19 as has been shared by the Ministry and Family Welfare," the letter said.

The states have also been asked to maintain adequate testing in all the districts as per Covid-19 testing guidelines and maintain the recommended share of RT-PCR and antigen tests. "Ensure a higher number of RT-PCR tests and send the positive samples for genome sequencing to Insacog laboratories so as to enable timely detection of new variants, if any, in the country," the letter added.