Tamil Nadu's Government Has Asked Districts To Step Up Vigilance In The Wake Of The Omicron Variant Fear

The Tamil Nadu government urged district administrations to boost monitoring and conduct field tests on Sunday after followingreports of the introduction of a novel 'Omicron' strain of coronavirus abroad.

State Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan stated in a letter to district officials shared with the media that it was substantially more transmissible than the Delta strain. Hewent on to say that the Union Health Secretary responded to him about reports of a new variation emerging and warned the states to be on the lookout.

The repercussions of another COVID-19 outbreak caused by the 'Omicron' variety, according to Radhakrishnan, would be serious, and the total risk associated with the novel variant Omicron for the Southeast Asian region was assessed to be high. He emphasised that improving surveillance and field investigations, as well as the use of facial masks, physical distance, and hand cleanliness, are all important in minimising Covid-19 and even Omicron transmission. Authorities should also verify that mitigation measures are in place to sustain key health services and that appropriate health-care resources are available to respond to any surges. Officials were told to increase vaccine coverage, particularly among priority populations for COVID vaccination.

The instructions were communicated to district collectors, and field level inspections were conducted at the Chennai airport by the Health Minister and senior department personnel. According to the letter, the new variant (Omicron) has 'immune escape potential' and 'possible transmissibility advantage' over the Delta version, and subsequent transmission of Omicron across Southeast Asia, notably India, was 'high.'

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Tamil Nadu reported 736 new coronavirus cases, bringing the overall number of infections to 27,25,467 and the death toll to 36,463, with 9 more deaths. The medical bulletin explained that in previous 24 hours, 772 persons were discharged, bringing the total number of patients discharged to 26,80,667, leaving 8,337 active infections, comprising those in isolation. In the last 24 hours, 1,01,446 samples were tested, bringing the total number of specimens evaluated to 5.40 crore.