Omicron Scare: Stay Vigilant & Alert, Union Home Secy Issues Advisory To States, UTs

New Delhi: Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla on Monday urged states and Union Territories (UTs) to remain vigilant and alert to deal with the situation arising from a fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19.

“There is need for greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision-making, and strict and prompt containment actions at the local and district levels based on the assessment of the situation,” he said in an advisory to state chief secretaries.

“States may consider imposing need-based local curbs/restrictions to control the crowd during the festive season,” he said.

Stating that states should strictly enforce the norms of COVID-appropriate behaviour, Bhalla wrote, “I would like to emphasise that there should be continued focus on the five-fold strategy of ‘Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to COVID-appropriate behaviour’ (wearing of face mask and maintaining social distancing) to avoid the possibility of a surge in COVID-19 cases, especially keeping in view the new VoC.”

The notification further said that states should proactively and regularly hold media briefings at the highest level to disseminate the right information to the public, so that undue anxiety is not caused due to misinformation.