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

File pic: Zee News

New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary on Friday (July 24) reviewed the management of COVID-19 in nine states with the high active caseload, asking them to urgently ramp up testing, strictly implement containment plan, augment health infrastructure and ensure effective clinical management, said an official statement.

The states including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Assam, have in the recent past shown a high rise in a daily number of active cases and are emerging as concern areas from COVID management point of view.

The review meeting held, under the chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary, as part of Centre-state coordinated strategy for effective containment and management of the COVID-19 pandemic, was participated by the Chief Secretaries and Health Secretaries of the nine states that are driving the present spurt of the active caseload in the country. 

Cabinet Secretary had a detailed review of the state-specific COVID response strategy with the Health Secretaries and other State officials as well as on the factors that were leading to rising case-load in these states in recent times.

These states were advised to ramp up the testing with a special focus on containment zones. Areas of concern with respect to low testing in certain states were also highlighted in the meeting. 

The central government directed the states that sustained and aggressive testing is crucial for early identification of cases and to prevent the spread of infection. 

Cabinet Secretary stressed the need for prompt and proper delineation of containment zones as per the guidelines of 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 need to be undertaken. 

States were also 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 emphasized the imperative of keeping the fatality rates low. 

For this, mapping of the high-risk populations 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.