Fourth wave of Covid-19: Keep focus on five-fold strategy to check surge in cases, Centre tells states, UTs

NEW DELHI: Amid concerns about a possible fourth wave of Coronavirus hitting India in the days to come, the Centre has advised the states and UTs to continue focusing on the five-fold strategy to prevent Covid-19 surge in the country.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written a letter to all Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries (Health) of all States and UTs emphasizing that there should be a continued focus on the five-fold strategy, i.e., Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to COVID Appropriate Behavior, according to ANI.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan writes to all Addl Chief Secys, Principal Secys, Secys (Health) of all States/UTs, emphasizing that there should be a continued focus on the five-fold strategy, i.e., Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to COVID Appropriate Behavior. pic.twitter.com/XIqkvXR1fF — ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2022

The Centre’s advisory to the states, UTs comes in the wake of WHO warning nations to remain vigilant against the virus. Figures showing a global rise in Covid-19 cases could herald a much bigger problem as some countries also report a drop in testing rates, the WHO said on Tuesday.

After more than a month of decline, Covid-19 cases started to increase around the world last week, the WHO said, with lockdowns in Asia and China`s Jilin province battling to contain an outbreak.

A combination of factors was causing the increases, including the highly transmissible Omicron variant and its BA.2 sublineage, and the lifting of public health and social measures, the WHO said.

"This increase is occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we`re seeing are just the tip of the iceberg," WHO`s head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.

Low vaccination rates in some countries, driven partly by a "huge amount of misinformation" also explained the rise, WHO officials said. New infections jumped by 8% globally compared to the previous week, with 11 million new cases and just over 43,000 new deaths reported from March 7-13. It is the first rise since the end of January.

The biggest jump was in the WHO`s Western Pacific region, which includes South Korea and China, where cases rose by 25% and deaths by 27%.

Africa also saw a 12% rise in new cases and a 14% rise in deaths, and Europe a 2% rise in cases but no jump in deaths. Other regions reported declining cases, including the eastern Mediterranean region, although this area saw a 38% rise in deaths linked to a previous spike in infections.

A number of experts have raised concerns that Europe faces another coronavirus wave, with cases rising since the beginning of March in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

The WHO`s Maria Van Kerkhove said at the briefing that BA.2 appears to be the most transmissible variant so far. However, there are no signs that it causes more severe disease and no evidence that any other new variants are driving the rise in cases.

The picture in Europe is also not universal. Denmark, for example, saw a brief peak in cases in the first half of February, driven by BA.2, which quickly subsided. But experts have begun to warn that the United States could soon see a similar wave to that seen in Europe, potentially driven by BA.2, the lifting of restrictions and potential waning immunity from vaccines given several months ago.