With a surge in Covid-19 cases in Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha, the Union health ministry has asked these states to make renewed efforts to contain transmission of the coronavirus and keep case fatality rate below one per cent. With these states imposing lockdown anew, the health ministry emphasised that the restrictions should be utilised to focus on containment, surveillance and testing in containment and buffer zones as the key strategy for early detection of cases and fatality management. In a letter to Principal Secretaries (Health) and Secretary (Health) of these states, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal asked them to ensure that at least 80 per cent of the new cases have their close contacts traced and are in quarantine within 72 hours of case confirmation.

With a surge in Covid-19 cases in Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, and Odisha, the Union health ministry has asked these states to make renewed efforts to contain transmission of the coronavirus and keep case fatality rate below one per cent. With these states imposing lockdown anew, the health ministry emphasised that the restrictions should be utilised to focus on containment, surveillance and testing in containment and buffer zones as the key strategy for early detection of cases and fatality management. In a letter to Principal Secretaries (Health) and Secretary (Health) of these states, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal asked them to ensure that at least 80 per cent of the new cases have their close contacts traced and are in quarantine within 72 hours of case confirmation.