Centre asks 9 states with high active COVID-19 caseload to strictly implement containment plan, ramp up testing

Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on Friday reviewed the management of COVID-19 in nine states with the high active caseload and asked them to urgently ramp up testing, augment health infrastructure and ensure effective clinical management.

The high-level virtual review meeting Gauba with the Chief Secretaries and Health Secretaries of the nine states that are driving the present spurt of the active caseload in the country.

The nine states that participated in the meeting include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

In keeping with the 'Test Track Treat' strategy, the states were advised to ramp up the testing with a special focus on containment zones. "The areas of concern with respect to low testing in certain states were highlighted. It was reiterated that sustained and aggressive testing is crucial for early identification of cases and to prevent the spread of infection," the Health Ministry said in an official release.

The Cabinet Secretary stressed the need for prompt and proper delineation of containment zones as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; intensive contact tracing and house-to-house active case search within the containment zones so as to effectively break the chain of transmission. Buffer zones to be identified outside the containment zones and continued surveillance of SARI/ILI cases needs to be undertaken, the release added.

States were advised to have a clear focus on health infrastructure availability including the requisite number of beds, oxygen and ventilators across the state with the implementation of clinical protocols ensuring the prescribed quality of care and seamless patient management. Effective ambulance management with zero refusal rate was also highlighted in the review meeting. Cabinet Secretary also emphasised the imperative of keeping the fatality rates low. For this, mapping of the high-risk population must be done, particularly the elderly and aged people and those with co-morbidities.

The attention of the states was drawn to the fact that early detection and timely clinical management is the key to contain the spread of COVID-19.

( With inputs from ANI )