Covid-19 testing not enough as cases rise: Govt sounds Kumbh caution

The health ministry has asked the Uttarakhand government to step up Covid testing and set up early warning systems to control the spread of the virus as the state prepares to organise the Mahakumbh Mela amid rising Covid cases in the country.
 
The religious event, one of the largest human congregations in the world, starts from April 1.
 
India recorded the highest single-day spike since late November of over 43,000 Covid cases on Sunday. More than 12 states have shown a surge in Covid cases during the past few weeks. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla tested positive for the virus on March 19 and was admitted to Covid centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
 
Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said pilgrims expected to visit Haridwar during the event could be from these states and could potentially lead to an upsurge in cases among the local population.
 
Bhushan wrote to the chief secretary of Uttarakhand, drawing his attention to the inadequate daily testing numbers in Haridwar — 50,000 Rapid Antigen Tests and 5,000 RT-PCR tests. Bhushan said these numbers were “not enough to effectively offset the huge number of expected pilgrim footfall”.
 
The report of the central team that visited Haridwar to review medical care and public health arrangements for the religious event said 10-20 pilgrims and 10-20 locals were being detected Covid positive every day. “This positivity rate has the potential to rapidly turn to an upsurge in cases, given the expected large footfall during Kumbh,” the ministry said.

 
A high-level central team led by S K Singh, director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC); along with S K Jain, additional director; and Meera Dhuria, deputy director, NCDC; and other members were deployed to review preparations ahead of the event on March 16-17.
 
The ministry advised the state to “follow scrupulously the SOPs issued by the Centre, increase awareness of self-reporting, especially among the local population, in case of symptoms suggestive of Covid-19”.
 
The local authorities have to enhance testing in potential high transmission areas and continue periodic testing of frontline workers before and after “auspicious snan (bathing) days of the Kumbh”.
 
In case there is a surge in cases or any super-spreader event, the state has to promptly send samples for genome sequencing in consultation with the NCDC.  More than 80 per cent of the new cases recorded as of Sunday morning were from six states. 
 
Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh accounted for 77.7 per cent of the new cases in the past 24 hours as of Sunday. As many as 197 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. Six states accounted for 86.8 per cent of the new deaths. Maharashtra saw the maximum casualties with 92 deaths.
 
A survey by LocalCircles said 52 per cent citizens believe the risk of new coronavirus variants leading to a strong second wave is high. So far, the government has detected 400 cases with UK, South Africa, and Brazil variants in the country.