Bengal, K'taka among 9 states asked to ramp up COVID testing, strictly implement containment plan
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday advised nine states including Assam, Bihar, Telangana and Odisha to ramp up testing with special focus on containment zones, strictly implement containment plan, augment health infrastructure and ensure effective clinical management of COVID-19 cases.
As part of the coordinated strategy for effective containment and management of the COVID-19 pandemic, a high-level virtual review meeting was chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba with the chief secretaries and health secretaries of these states that are driving the present spurt of the active caseload in the country, the health ministry said.
The other states that participated in the virtual conference were Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
A graded, proactive, progressive and well coordinated strategy of COVID-19 management between the Centre and states and union territories has resulted in ever-increasing recoveries in the country, with progressively falling case fatality rate, the ministry said.
There are, however, some states which have in the recent past shown high rise in daily number of active cases and are emerging as concern areas from COVID management point of view, it underlined.
The cabinet secretary had a detailed review on the state-specific COVID response strategy with the health secretaries and other state officials as well as on the factors that were leading to rising case-load in these states in recent times.
In keeping with the 'Test Track Treat' strategy, the states were advised to ramp up the testing with a special focus on containment zones.
"Areas of concern with respect to low testing in certain states was highlighted. It was reiterated that sustained and aggressive testing is crucial for early identification of cases and to prevent spread of infection," the ministry said in a statement.
Gauba stressed the need for prompt and proper delineation of containment zones as per the guidelines of Ministry of Health, intensive contact tracing, and house-to-house active case search within the containment zones so as to effectively break the chain of transmission.
Buffer zones to be identified outside the containment zones and continued surveillance of SARI/ILI cases needs to be undertaken, the ministry said.
The states were advised to have a clear focus on health infrastructure availability including a requisite number of beds, oxygen, and ventilators with the implementation of clinical protocols ensuring the prescribed quality of care and seamless patient management.
"Effective ambulance management with zero refusal rate was also highlighted in the review meeting. Cabinet Secretary also emphasized the imperative of keeping the fatality rates low. For this, mapping of the high-risk populations must be done, particularly the elderly and aged people and those with co-morbidities. The attention of the states was drawn to the fact that early detection and timely clinical management is the key to contain the spread of COVID-19," the statement said.
According to the updated data at 8 am, Andhra Pradesh (72711 cases and 884 deaths), Bihar (31,980 cases and 217 deaths), Telangana (50,826 cases and 447 deaths), Odisha (21,099 cases and 114 deaths), West Bengal (51,757 cases and 1255 deaths), Assam (28,791 cases and 70 deaths), Karnataka (80,863 cases and 1,616 deaths), Jharkhand (6,975 cases and 67 deaths ) and Uttar Pradesh (58,104 cases and 1,289 deaths).
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
