The Centre on Friday directed the states and union territories that any individual with fever, headache, sore throat, breathlessness, body ache, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, and diarrhea should be considered as a suspect case of Covid-19 and must be tested for the infection. The order was issued at a time when the country is witnessing a worrisome surge in the number of coronavirus’s Delta and Omicron variant cases.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) DG Dr. Balram Bhargava wrote to Chief Secretaries of all States/UTs to set up round-the-clock functional Rapid Antigen Test booths at different locations, engage medical and paramedical staff, and encourage the use of home test kits.
“A rise in Covid-19 cases accompanied by an increase in positivity rate is being documented in various parts of the country. Early testing of suspect patients and their contacts and isolating them expeditiously are one of the key measures to curb transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Based on the previous experience, it has been observed that if the number of the cases rise above a certain threshold, RTPCR-based testing leads to delays in confirming diagnosis due to its turnaround time of about 5-8 hours,” the letter reads.
“The estimated national daily molecular testing capacity is more than 20 lakh per day. Multiple Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) booths must be set up in identified geographies and operationalized on a 24X7 basis to offer widespread testing and easier access to all citizens. Use of self-tests and home tests may be encouraged for symptomatic individuals. Seven such home testing kits have been approved so far,” the government said.
The government has also asked those showing any symptom to isolate and follow the home isolation guideline of the health ministry until the Covid-19 test results come.
India registered the highest single-day rise of 309 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, taking the country’s tally of such cases to 1,270, the Union health ministry said on Friday. It also recorded 16,764 fresh Covid-19 cases and 220 more fatalities due to the viral disease. Of the 1,270 patients infected with the Omicron variant of the virus, 374 have either recuperated or migrated, according to the ministry’s data updated at 8 am.
Of the 23 states and Union territories that have recorded Omicron cases so far, Maharashtra has registered the highest number of 450, followed by Delhi (320), Kerala (109), and Gujarat (97).
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