New Delhi, 23 June
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday directed officials to undertake surveillance and whole genome scans to scan any possible mutations, emphasizing on adequate testing and effective surveillance to assess the spread of COVID-19 in a timely manner. Continue to focus on sequencing.
Mandaviya, who chaired a meeting with leading experts and officials amid rising COVID-19 cases in some states, called for focus on districts reporting high case positivity and adequate testing (RT-PCR). with a higher ratio of To assess and control the spread of the infection in a time bound manner, the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.
The Minister directed the officials to continue to focus on surveillance and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) to scan them for any possible mutations.
He also directed officials to monitor hospitalizations due to COVID-19, and SARI/ILI cases, the statement said.
He called for speeding up vaccination, including booster doses, in districts reporting high cases.
“Since sufficient doses of vaccine are available, don’t let the vaccine go to waste by focusing on expediting vaccination among eligible and vulnerable groups,” he said.
In the meeting, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health, Lav Agarwal made a detailed presentation on the global scenario of the rise in cases and the status of COVID-19 in the country, the statement said.
This includes presentation and analysis of trend of COVID cases, daily and active cases, positivity and deaths, status of testing as well as state wise weekly tests per million, RT-PCR share in weekly tests, genome sequencing and immunization status.