Rajesh Bhushan: Concerned About The Sudden Outbreak Of The Covid-19 Virus

In a letter to his colleagues dated December 20, Rajesh Bhushan, the Indian IAS Secretary, discussed the sudden outbreak of the Covid-19 virus. The letter is formatted in the following five points:

• India with its focus on the five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to COVID Appropriate Behavior has been able to restrict the transmission of the Covid-19 virus and is having around twelve hundred cases on a weekly basis. The Public Health challenge of Covid-19 still persists around the world with around thirty-five lakh cases reported weekly.
• The ‘Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in the context of COVID- 19’ issued by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in June 2022 calls for early detection, isolation, testing, and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases to detect and contain outbreaks of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Therefore, monitoring the trends of existing variants is of crucial importance.
• In view of the sudden spurt of cases being witnessed in Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, and China, it is essential to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants through Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) network. Such an exercise will enable the timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate the undertaking of requisite public health measures for the same.
• In this context, all states are requested to ensure that as far as possible samples of all positive cases, on a daily basis, are sent to the designated INSACOG Genome Sequencing Laboratories (IGSLS) that are mapped to the States and UTS.
• The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare commends the consistent hard work put in by all States/UTS and will continue to extend required support to all states in this regard.

News Mania Desk