The central government gave 5 suggestions to the states to deal with Omicron

Amid the Omicron outbreak, the Center on Thursday advised states and union territories not to let their rescue operations be hampered. States have been asked to maintain their preparedness in the fight against the COVID pandemic and follow a five-fold strategy in view of the new variant Omicron. States have been asked by district and local administrations to implement local containment measures, especially when test positivity increases by more than 10 per cent or oxygen beds are booked more than 40 per cent. The Health Ministry said, “Based on the local situation and population characteristics such as density and others and taking into account the high transmission potential of Omicron, states and union territories may take preventive measures even before these limits are reached.

May impose more restrictions.” States have been advised to follow a five-pronged strategy with containment, testing and surveillance, clinical management, COVID safe behavior and containment. On the issue of containment, states have been advised to impose night curfew and ensure strict regulation of large gatherings, especially ahead of upcoming festivities. The Center has said that the states need to keep a close watch on the number of Delta and Omicron cases in all the districts and on the day-to-day and week-to-week positivity of the cases.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan reviewed the public health preparedness of states to fight COVID-19 and said any restrictions should be enforced for a minimum period of 14 days. Bhushan said that the syndromes of Omicron variant present like common cold with high rate of transmissibility (spread of infection) and doubling time, hence syndromic approach can be employed for prevention of COVID. It has also been reported that the current national clinical management protocol is unchanged for Omicron. States were advised to increase bed capacity, ensure logistics like ambulances and put in place mechanisms for seamless transfer of patients. The ministry advised the states, “Use the funds sanctioned under the Emergency COVID Response Package (ECRP-2) to ensure that the required capacity of the health systems to respond to any emergency at/at the hotspot. Pass has been developed.

On the COVID Safe Behavior front, the states have also been asked to ensure that there is no misinformation being spread among citizens, which could lead to panic. States have been asked to ensure 100% coverage of the eligible beneficiaries of the missed first and second doses in an expeditious manner and pay special attention to the districts where coverage of the first and second doses is less than the national average. In addition, the Union Health Ministry The U.S. has said in a statement that the pace of the vaccination campaign has been accelerated through the availability of more and more vaccines. Under this, the states and union territories are provided with prior information about the availability of vaccines, so that they can better plan the vaccine and streamline the supply chain of the vaccine.