Covid: India issues advisory to states on how to tackle surge

New Delhi - Sufficient quarantine facilities shall also be re-activated.

The Union Government has advised States and Union Territories (UTs) to take intensive actions in well defined Geographies (cities/districts/areas) with more than 10 per cent test positivity or 60 per cent bed occupancy.

The Centre said that prompt and targeted action needs to be focused on specific districts/cities/areas in order to flatten the current curve of the epidemic which may be identified by States as per the parameter -- where test positivity is of 10 per cent or more in the last one week or bed occupancy is of more than 60 per cent on either oxygen supported or ICU beds.

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The Centre's advisory said, districts fulfilling any one of the above two criteria are to be considered for taking intensive action and local containment measures.

"Local containment primarily focused on restricting intermingling of people is to be undertaken for a period of 14 days for breaking the chain of transmission duly following epidemiological principles. Classification of districts requiring intensive action and local containment is also to be undertaken by the State on a weekly basis," the Centre advised.

Centre said that the local containment will essentially focus on three strategic areas of intervention, which include Containment, Clinical Management and Community Engagement. Districts will continue with the strategy of 'Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate and implementation of Covid Appropriate Behaviour across the district as the ongoing strategy for the management of COVID-19.

For clinical management, Centre advised that analysis to be undertaken with respect to requirement of health infrastructure so as to manage the present and projected cases (next one month) and necessary action initiated to ensure sufficient oxygen-supported beds, ICU beds, ventilators, ambulances including creation of makeshift hospitals, as needed.