Citing multiple surges in coronavirus cases in several countries, the Union Health Ministry has written to 13 states and union territories, including West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra and Punjab, expressing concerns over declining weekly testing rates and spiking positivity rates in some districts.
In a letter to Nagaland, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Kerala, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Ladakh, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan stressed on maintaining high testing rates given the recent increase in travelling due to events like marriages, festivals and vacations that have recently concluded or are underway.
"A decrease in testing would undermine the actual infection spread within the community," Mr Bhushan said in the letter.
Also, with the onset of winter and increased pollution in some states, prevalence of ILI/SARI and respiratory distress symptoms should be closely monitored, with tests being conducted regularly for timely monitoring and clustering of cases for early hotspot identification, the official underlined.
"In the absence of sustained levels of sufficient testing, it is very difficult to determine the true level of infection spread in a geography. With a majority of countries seeing multiple surges in Covid cases in recent times and a few developed countries facing even fourth and fifth waves despite high levels of Covid vaccination, there is a need for continued vigil given the unpredictable and contagious nature of the disease," he said.
"Hence, all efforts must be implemented to preserve the gains made so far and to prevent deterioration of COVID-19 scenario across the country," the health secretary said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
New XEC Covid Variant Spreads To 27 Countries, Here's What We Know So Far Study Shows How Long Covid Is Debilitating Children's Health Joe Biden Appears To Face Difficulty While Getting Into Car, Video Goes Viral "Moving Towards One Party, One Nation": Uddhav Thackeray On BJP Victory Delhi Cop Stops 3 Men During Patrol, They Kill Him. Then A Manhunt Begins With Thumping Win, Maharashtra Decides Real NCP, Sena Hemant Soren To Meet Jharkhand Governor Today, Swearing In On November 26 "Antisemitic Terrorist Act": Israel On Rabbi's Death In UAE In Maharashtra, Victory Margin Lowest For AIMIM, Congress' Nana Patole Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.