Amid a rising number of cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Centre on Monday directed the governments in states and union territories to strictly follow the existing national directives for COVID-19 management throughout the country till January 31, 2022.
The Ministry of Home Affairs in a letter to the Chief Secretaries of states and UTs stressed that there is a “need for greater foresight, data analysis, dynamic decision making, and strict and prompt containment actions at the local and district levels” in view of existing COVID-19 situation.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that the states should continue to focus on the five-fold strategy — Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour — to tackle the surge in Covid-19 cases, especially keeping in view of Omicron, dubbed a Variant of Concern (VOC) by the World Health Organisation.
“I would like to reiterate that all the states/UTs must observe all precautions, and not let the guard down. Local/district administration, based on the normative framework and assessment of the situation should promptly take appropriate containment measures,” he said.
Bhalla insisted that the state enforcement machinery should “strictly enforce” the Covid-19 appropriate behaviour like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.
Also Read: Covid: India adds 6,358 new cases in last 24-hour
(With inputs from ANI)
