No Room For Complacency: States Told To Continue Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination Strategy

Bhubaneswar: With states going ahead with the unlocking process amid a drop in COVID cases, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Friday directed the chief secretaries to ensure that there is no complacency in adhering to COVID appropriate behaviour and the test-track-treat-vaccination strategy.

“While the opening up of activities, after a decline in cases is essential, the states and UTs must ensure that the whole process is carefully calibrated,” he said.

Bhalla stressed the five-fold strategy of COVID appropriate behaviour – mandatory use of masks, hand hygiene, social distancing and also proper ventilation of closed spaces- and test-track-treat and vaccination. “Regular monitoring of COVID appropriate behaviour is required to prevent relapse,” he said.

The states have been asked to ensure that the testing rate does not come down. “As the situation is dynamic, a close watch needs to be kept on early signs of a surge in active cases or high positivity rates. A system should be in place at the micro-level to ensure that whenever cases rise in a smaller place, it gets checked there itself, through local containment measures,” he said.

He further said that vaccination should be stepped up and maximum people covered in an expeditious manner to break the chain of transmission.