Omicron threat: Test international travellers, focus on genome sequencing, Centre tells states

🔴 The Health Ministry has also asked the states to ensure continuous monitoring of hotspots, which are areas where a recent cluster of positive cases have emerged.

The Centre has told the states that there is a need for rigorous surveillance of international passengers. (Express file photo)

With WHO having classified Omicron as a variant of concern, the Health Ministry has directed the states to review the detailed travel history of passengers arriving via international flights and to absolutely ensure that travellers from “at-risk” countries are tested. All samples which test Covid-positive should be promptly sent for genome sequencing, the ministry said.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, while highlighting to the states the need for rigorous surveillance of international passengers said that there is “already a reporting mechanism for obtaining past travel details of passengers coming through international flight”.

“…this should be reviewed at your level and the protocol provided by this Ministry should be strictly ensured including testing on disembarkation of international travellers coming from “At Risk” Countries and sending all positive samples for genome sequencing to INSACOG Labs in a prompt manner,” Bhushan told the states.

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Bhushan also urged the states to significantly increase the number of tests conducted on the general population and send all Covid-positive samples for genome sequencing. “INSACOG has been established to monitor the circulating variants in the country. It is important at this juncture that States must significantly increase sampling from the general population/community for genome sequencing by sending these samples to INSACOG Lab network as per the policy,” Bhushan told the states.

The Health Ministry has also asked the states to ensure continuous monitoring of hotspots, which are areas where a recent cluster of positive cases have emerged.

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“In all such “hotspots”, saturation testing and sending of positive samples quickly for genome sequencing to designated INSACOG Labs must be ensured in collaboration with Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). States should keep a close check on the emerging trend of cases and the positivity in an area and quickly delineate hotspots for effective containment of Covid-19,” Bhushan told the states.

The Health Ministry has directed the states to implement a four-pronged approach to effectively manage the situation in the backdrop of reports of the Omicron variant having spread to many countries. Bhushan told the states to implement intensive containment measures and active surveillance of Covid-19 cases.

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The ministry has also asked the states to increase vaccination coverage and to enforce Covid-appropriate behaviour “in a very proactive manner”.

Kaunain Sheriff M

Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies. With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health. His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award. Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time. Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More

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