The Centre asked states and union territories on Wednesday to conduct random RT-PCR screenings of passengers from each incoming flight.
According to the Centre, all positive specimens should be sent for genomic sequencing. The decision to test nearly 2% of passengers comes as India has consistently reported more than 10,000 coronavirus cases in recent days.
Following the directions, an advisory to states and UTs was issued by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan. Through the letter, Bhushan stated them to implement the revised strategy which focuses on early detection and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases, and the containment of outbreaks of new coronavirus variants.
Bhushan said the strategy was issued with the long-term vision to fully integrate COVID-19 surveillance within the existing Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) mechanism.
Summarising the actions that states need to take, Bhushan said they should ensure “Surveillance of Incoming International Travelers which will include a random screening of 2 per cent of passengers in each incoming flight into India by RT-PCR”.
He asked them that all positive specimens should be sent for genome sequencing and that such passengers should be advised isolation and clinically managers as per prevailing guidelines.
He also said all healthcare facilities should report Influenza Like Illness (ILI) cases, and mentioned that the District Surveillance Officer (DSO) will be responsible to analyse the data.
Health facilities should ensure monitoring of Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) cases in all district hospitals and selected tertiary hospitals and undertake their RT-PCR test for covid, he said.
State IDSP shall share this data on a fortnightly basis and the lab testing for COVID-19 should upload their data on Indian Council for Medical Research portal, he said.
Bhushan said the three-pronged genomic surveillance strategy should be implemented by states and UTs. Additionally, positive samples from widespread outbreaks or clusters in the neighbourhood as well as unusual occurrences should be sent for whole-genome sequencing.
The letter added that updated surveillance guidelines also mandate sewage and wastewater surveillance, which could offer early warnings regarding a potential local COVID-19 surge.