Maharashtra government orders increased testing, vaccine coverage

The Maharashtra government asked the district and civic officials to ramp up testing and vaccination coverage amid the rising COVID-19 cases in the state.  

In its letter to the collectors, municipal corporations and chief executive officer, the Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Pradeep Vyas stated that all districts should ensure the proportion of RT-PCR tests was at least 60 per cent. 

Vyas also requested that people in closed public venues such as trains, buses, cinemas, auditoriums, offices, hospitals, colleges, and schools wear masks.

"Despite repeated directives, the state's testing has decreased significantly. According to data as of June 1, there has been a significant decrease in the number of weekly tests conducted in 26 districts, which is a serious source of concern. Overall testing should be raised in all districts right away," according to the letter.

Officials were also recommended to expand vaccination coverage, promote and expedite the prophylactic dose and improve vaccination among children aged 12 to 18.

Vyas also urged officials to do periodic analyses of new cases in terms of time, place, and person to develop a localised response plan. 

The ACS (Health) advised against complacency, noting that the state had recorded BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants last week and that there were no difficulties associated with these cases.

Over the recent week, Maharashtra has seen a significant increase in COVID-19 cases. On June 1, the state reported 1,081 instances, the most since February 24.

Vyas also noted in his letter that an appropriate number of samples should be sent to an INSACOG laboratory for genome sequencing.

He emphasised the importance of regularly monitoring the total clinical spectrum of cases and regularly analysing the proportion of breakthrough infections and reinfection cases.

On Friday, the Centre wrote to five states, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, urging them to take prompt steps to stop the infection from spreading.

In the letter, the ministry advised the states to take immediate measures and effective management to contain the viral infection and monitor localised infection spread.

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• Covid
• Covid-19
• Maharashtra
• Maharashtra government
• Mumbai
• RT-PCR tests
• coronavirus