Centre asks states to step up surveillance to curb Covid-19 spread

The Centre has asked states to enhance surveillance of Covid-19 infection with focus on early detection, screening and timely management. In his second letter this week, the Union health secretary has asked states to follow operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy for Covid-19 as issued on June 9. The idea is to integrate Covid surveillance in the long term with the existing Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) mechanism.

States have been asked to screen 2 per cent of international travellers randomly with RT-PCR tests and send all positive samples for genomic sequencing. Passengers who test positive need to be isolated