This is an archive article published on December 1, 2021
Tracking variants: Centre asks states to send all samples from Covid hotspots
🔴 On Tuesday, during a high-level review meeting chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, the states were advised to send “all positive samples” for genome sequencing to designated INSACOG labs “in a prompt manner”.
New Delhi | Updated: December 1, 2021 07:23 AM IST
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On Tuesday, the Centre told states to ensure “physical visits” to the homes of passengers from “at-risk” countries to monitor home isolation. (Representational)
TIGHTENING ITS genome sequencing measures to ensure early detection of new variants, including Omicron, the Union Health Ministry has asked states to send “100 per cent samples” from Covid hotspots, starting with two recent clusters in Karnataka’s Dharwad and Maharashtra’s Thane, The Indian Express has learnt.
On Tuesday, during a high-level review meeting chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, the states were advised to send “all positive samples” for genome sequencing to designated INSACOG labs “in a prompt manner”. Earlier, only about five per cent of samples from positive cases detected by RT-PCR tests were sent for genome sequencing.
To begin with, top Government sources told The Indian Express, the Centre has told authorities to send all samples from the cluster of cases reported from a medical college in Dharwad and an old-age home at Bhiwandi in Thane.
“We have told the states that whenever you have emerging hotspots and clusters of new cases, you should get 100 per cent of the genome sequenced. It is being done in Dharwad, where they had more than 240 cases in one institution, and in Bhiwandi, where 60 cases were detected in an old age home. We have told the states that wherever you have such a number, there should be mandatory genome sequencing,” sources said.
On Tuesday, the Centre told states to ensure “physical visits” to the homes of passengers from “at-risk” countries to monitor home isolation. “The status of those who are negative after the retest on the eighth day” will also be “physically monitored by the state administration”, it said. The states have been told that international passengers from “at-risk” countries should be advised to wait at airports till the report comes and “not book connecting flights”.
During the meeting, ICMR D-G Dr Balram Bhargava said Omicron does not escape RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen tests. The Centre conveyed that the flagship “Har Ghar Dastak” campaign has been extended till December 31.
Kaunain Sheriff M is an award-winning investigative journalist and the National Health Editor at The Indian Express. He is the author of Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant, an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies.
With over a decade of experience, Kaunain brings deep expertise in three areas of investigative journalism: law, health, and data. He currently leads The Indian Express newsroom’s in-depth coverage of health.
His work has earned some of the most prestigious honours in journalism, including the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) Award, and the Mumbai Press Club’s Red Ink Award.
Kaunain has also collaborated on major global investigations. He was part of the Implant Files project with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which exposed malpractices in the medical device industry across the world. He also contributed to an international investigation that uncovered how a Chinese big-data firm was monitoring thousands of prominent Indian individuals and institutions in real time.
Over the years, he has reported on several high-profile criminal trials, including the Hashimpura massacre, the 2G spectrum scam, and the coal block allocation case. Within The Indian Express, he has been honoured three times with the Indian Express Excellence Award for his investigations—on the anti-Sikh riots, the Vyapam exam scam, and the abuse of the National Security Act in Uttar Pradesh. ... Read More
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