Rohit Shishodia
India’s Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has directed chief secretaries of Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir to deal strictly with violators of Covid norms, improve overall testing and refocus on surveillance and stringent containment in selected districts.

In a review meeting with these states, Mr Guaba directed them to monitor mutant strains and clustering of cases for early hotspot identification to control the spread. The states should focus on clinical management in districts reporting higher deaths, he advised.

“Undertake priority vaccination in districts reporting higher cases and promote Covid-appropriate behavior. Ensure effective citizen communication to not let complacency set in, especially in light of vaccination drive entering the next phase. Enforce stringent social distancing measures,” directed Mr Gauba.

It may be noted that these states have been reporting a high active caseload or an increasing trend in new cases in the last week.

The chief secretaries briefed about the current situation in the states and their preparedness to tackle the recent spike in Covid cases. They informed about the enforcement of Covid appropriate behavior by levying heavy fines and challans, reviewing the surveillance and containment activities closely with the district collectors, and other steps being taken in line with the guidelines provided by Union Health Ministry.

Mr Gauba has reiterated that states need to maintain a continued rigorous vigil in terms of containing the spread and not squander away the gains of the collective hard work of the last year.

The states were advised not to lower their guard, enforce Covid Appropriate Behaviour and deal firmly with violations. It was strongly underlined that they need to follow effective surveillance strategies in respect of potential super spreading events.