Arunachal Pradesh health secretary P Parthiban has issued an advisory to deputy commissioners (DCs) of all the districts asking them to ensure strict enforcement of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour and other measures in order to avoid any possible spread of the virus.
The health secretary’s direction comes in the wake of increasing COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
In the advisory, which was issued on February 23, Parthiban wrote: “As you are aware, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over as evidenced from the recent surge of cases in other states of India, notably Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In view of the rise of mutant variant cases of COVID-19 in India, and movement of persons across the country, it is quite possible that such a situation may arise in Arunachal Pradesh unless adequate precautions are taken.”
Parthiban also directed that district medical officers (DMOs) should ensure adequate number of testing is carried out by focusing on increasing the proportion of RT-PCR/TrueNat tests.
All negative Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) results are to be mandatorily followed by RT-PCR/TrueNat test, he added.
The health secretary also directed regular monitoring of the mutant strains through testing followed by Genome sequencing, as well as monitoring of the emerging cluster of cases.
