Given the rising COVID cases, preventive measures are already underway by the Delhi State Health Department. All the government hospitals are directed to continuously monitor patients with symptoms of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI), collect their samples, and forward them for RT-PCR testing. Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is also instructed to be performed on all positive samples to determine the variant.
The surveillance has been increased and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been asked to share Covid testing data. Mock drills were also conducted between December 13 and December 17 in all the Delhi Government Hospitals in order to analyze the preparedness in case of a possible spike in COVID-19 cases.
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Union Ministry Called A Meeting Amid Raising Concern
These measures were taken after the meeting conducted by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya with all the state health ministers on Wednesday. Along with the Union Health Minister, Health Secretary Sudhansh Pant, Secretary of the Department of Health Research Dr Rajiv Bahl, and Dr. VK Paul, Member, (Health), NITI Aayog were also present. After the meeting, a post made it to the ministry’s X feed saying, "It is time to work together in a "Whole of Government" approach, through closely working with each other. We need to be on the alert, but there is no need to panic. It is important to be prepared with mock drills of hospital preparedness, increased surveillance, and effective communication with people. Let us do a mock drill in all hospitals once every 3 months. I assure all support of the Centre to States."
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New Sub-Variant Discovered
These measures are being put into place in the wake of a new covid sub-variant being discovered. The new sub-variant, JN.1 was earlier categorized under its parent lineage BA.2.86, but recently WHO classified it as a whole separate variant of interest based on its rapidly increasing speed of transmission. Though it is believed that JN.1 isn’t a huge risk to public health, it is still advised to be cautious based on the rapidly rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.