Ministry of Home Affairs issues fresh advisory to States
Ministry of Home Affairs
New Delhi: Amidst initial signs of surge in cases of COVID-19 as well as increased detection of Omicron variant in different parts of the country, the Centre on Monday issued a fresh advisory to all States and Union Territories to deal with the pandemic situation.
In the advisory, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said States and Union Territories may consider imposing need based, local curbs and restrictions, to control the crowd during the festive season.
Asking States and UTs not to let the guard down, he emphasised that there should be continued focus on the five-fold strategy -- Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour to avoid the possibility of surge in COVID-19 cases, especially keeping in view the new Variant of Concern (VOC).
He asked the States and UTs to refer to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order issued for ensuring implementation of the measures as conveyed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) on December 21.
'The country has witnessed an overall decline in active cases. However, the new variant, Omicron is reported to be at least three times more transmissible than the Delta VOC, and is posing a new challenge for the Covid containment measures,' the communication said.
In the countries with Omicron-driven surge, the home secretary said, the growth trajectory of cases has been very steep and in our country, 578 Omicron cases have already been reported in 19 States and UTs so far.
He said globally, Omicron cases have already been reported in 116 countries.
Further, surge in cases is also being reported across various countries, especially in the US, the UK, Europe (France, Italy, Spain), Russia, South Africa, Vietnam, Australia, etc.