Escalate COVID testing, ensure priority vaccination in highly affected districts: Centre to Punjab

New Delhi, Mar 31: The Centre has asked Punjab and Chandigarh to effectively implement the test-track-treat strategy against the COVID-19 pandemic, escalate testing till the positivity comes down below 5 per cent and ensure priority vaccination of eligible population groups in districts reporting high number of cases.

Punjab has reported nearly 21 per cent week-on-week increase in new COVID-19 cases and about 2,740 average daily cases in the last seven days. During the same period, the state has also seen a 30 per cent week-on-week increase in new COVID deaths and is reporting about 53 average daily deaths, the health ministry said.

Chandigarh has also followed similar pattern in the last week. The union territory has reported nearly 27 per cent week-on-week increase in new cases and 180 per cent week-on-week increase in new daily deaths, it said.

An average of about 257 daily cases and 14 daily deaths have been reported during the last week.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting on Wednesday along with NITI Aayog Member (Health) V K Paul, to review the status of COVID-19 in Punjab and Chandigarh and the public health measures taken for surveillance, containment and management of the disease by the health authorities.

Through a detailed presentation, a granular analysis of the highly affected districts in Punjab and the UT of Chandigarh along with some key statistics was presented, the ministry said in its statement.

Paul re-emphasised the importance of stringent and continued measures to break the chain of transmission and not frittering away the gains of collaborative efforts of last year, it said.

Increased testing with focus on RT-PCR tests, effective contact tracing with at least 25 to 30 close contacts of each positive case, strict implementation of containment zones, intensification of vaccination drive, and enforcement of physical distancing measures were highlighted as the pivot of effective management strategy, the statement said.