Omicron scare: States told to go for need-based local curbs

Amidst initial signs of a surge in cases of COVID19 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 UTs to deal with the pandemic situationIn the advisory Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said States and Union Territories may consider imposing needbased local curbs and restrictions to control the crowd during the festive seasonA swab sample being collected at New Delhi railway station on Monday PicPTIAsking States and UTs not to let the guard down he emphasised that there should be continued focus on the fivefold strategymdashTestTrackTreatVaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour to avoid the possibility of surge in COVID19 cases especially keeping in view the new Variant of Concern VOCBhalla 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 21Beneficiaries wait for vaccines in Nadia Bengal on Monday PicPTIldquoThe 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 measuresrdquo the communication saidIn the countries with Omicrondriven 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 farHe said globally Omicron cases have already been reported in 116 countriesIn the MoHFW advisory of December 21 Bhalla said a normative framework has been provided and with distinct presence of the Delta variant and detection of Omicron cases in many States there is need for greater foresight data analysis dynamic decision making and strict and prompt containment actions at the local and district levels based on the assessment of the situationThe home secretary said on December 23 Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the status of COVID19 Omicron VOC and preparedness of health systems across the country34793333 Total no of Coronavirus cases in india so far479997 Total no of deaths due to the virus in India so far75841 Total no of active cases in IndiaCurbs or rallies Varun Gandhirsquos jabBJP MP Varun Gandhi on Monday cited a Centrersquos note to criticise the decision of several states including Uttar Pradesh to impose night curfew to curb COVId and said it should be decided if our priority is to contain the disease or to indulge in a show of strength during elections Of late Gandhi has been targeting his own partyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever