The Centre is concerned about a drop in testing in Meghalaya, where five Omicron cases were discovered on January 4. It has requested that the state ramp up tests to monitor the spread of the novel COVID-19 strain.
Three of the five Omicron patients have been found, and one has been returned to her home state of Assam. Returnees from other regions of the country made up the majority of the group.
States and UTs asked to increase covid-19 tests
The Centre requested that COVID-19 testing be increased in Meghalaya and eight other states and union territories on Thursday.
Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh are the other states and UTs.
In a letter sent on Wednesday, Arti Ahuja, the Union Health Ministry‘s additional secretary, stated that determining the exact level of virus spread in the community would be impossible without sufficient testing.
She called a drop in testing in these states and UTs, combined with an increase in positive rates, “reason for alarm.”
She pointed out that the Omicron variety has resulted in an alarming increase in coronavirus cases in several countries, even where vaccination rates are high. “Continual vigilance and measures are required to prevent any deterioration of the COVID-19 scenario,” she stated.
Meghalaya logs 90 new cases
On Thursday, the state reported 90 new COVID-19 cases, although no deaths had been reported in the previous 24 hours.
The active count is presently at 212, with 83,324 people having recovered from the virus, including 23 today. The death toll has remained unchanged at 1,485.
East Khasi Hills district has 70 new active cases, West Garo Hills district has nine, West Jaintia Hills district has five, and Ri Bhoi and South West Khasi Hills each have three. According to a senior official, 50% of the new positive cases are high-risk connections.
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