Fear of another wave in the wake of the UK, Brazilian, and South African strain of the contagious virus, is making the Hemant Soren government take the best precaution to contain the virus. The state health department issued an alert for all its 24 districts, to step up covid-19 surveillance and testing capacities amid concerns of Covid-19 cases resurging in Kerala and Maharashtra.
Buoyed by a steady decline in Covid cases in recent months, the Jharkhand government on Thursday announced the reopening of coaching centres, parks, cinema halls, schools for classes VII, IX, and XI. It also provided a host of other relaxations to simplify lives and bolster economic activities.
The health department, however, is being cautious and working out fresh plans to curb the hike in the number of Covid cases that have flattened over the weeks now. A senior official in the state chapter of the National Health Mission on Friday said, “Unlocking is okay, but going by the trends of a few highly populated states of India, we can’t afford to put down our guard at this stage. During the start of 2020, when the virus broke, there was a similar pattern— began spreading from Kerala to other big states and town and eventually it spread to other parts of the country including Jharkhand by March. We have to break that chain.”
Amravati in Maharashtra was has been put under lockdown over the weekend from Saturday till Monday. Yavatmal another Marathi district has also announced a host of fresh curbs. “Sustained curbs or lockdown in big cities will force migrant workers from Jharkhand to return. In such a situation, we have to be more vigilant in scanning the returning workers. All districts have been asked to ensure proper testing, special those coming from vulnerable areas,” said the official. In the wake of fresh guidelines issued by the Union ministry on Covid-19 testing being made mandatory at airports from February 22 onwards, Jharkhand too will resume Covid-19 testing at Ranchi airport and other major transit points.
“Securing transit points — roads, rail, and airports — will be the key since there aren’t any more travel restrictions within the country. Our efforts are getting channelized towards that direction,” he said.
The recent advisory issued by the union health ministry to all states has made it mandatory for incoming visitors directly or via transit from UK, Middle East, or Europe to undergo ‘self-paid covid-19 testing at airports’ from February 22. Significantly, Ranchi’s Birsa Munda airport doesn’t have any direct connection with international destinations but it is well connected with key cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, and Bangalore that are international transit points.
NHM mission director Ravi Shankar Shukla on the other hand maintained that the health department is combating with Covid on two fronts — meeting inoculation targets and detecting infected persons. “All the districts have again been asked to strengthen its surveillance units to maintain the declining trend of the infected cases in the state,” he maintained.
Notably, chief minister Hemant Soren last night has asked the general public to follow the basic Covid safety norms while announcing fresh unlock. He said, “With Covid-19 cases drastically declining in our state, we felt it was right time to reopen those which remained closed but the virus threat is still not over. Hence, I appeal to everyone to continue wearing masks, washing hands, and following all the protocols prescribed by the governments. I have also directed officials to start collecting Covid-19 samples at the airport again.”
