19 states, including Nagaland asked to ramp up testing

NEW DELHI, DEC 30 (PTI): Centre on Thursday urged 19 states and union territories to ramp up Covid testing “in a big way” to identify cases promptly and restrict its spread in view of the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant, and the larger preponderance of asymptomatic cases.
A decline of over 50 per cent has been seen in testing in Arunachal Pradesh (68%), Assam (58%) and Nagaland (52%), it noted.
The other states and where testing is low includes poll-bound Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Comprehensive, adequate and smart testing is an important step in controlling the transmission of the virus, Additional Secretary in the Health Ministry Arti Ahuja said in a letter to the states and UTs concerned.
“The need for enhanced testing is even greater today, keeping in mind the increased transmissibility of Omicron, and the larger preponderance of asymptomatic cases. Besides, ramping up testing in the initial days itself will help to ensure that the infected individual does not spread the virus to others,” Ahuja said.
“However, it is observed that there has been a considerable decline in Covid-19 testing in some states, which is a cause of serious concern,” she said.
The official advised the states to ensure focussed and comprehensive testing as per extant ICMR guidelines and to ramp up testing in a big way to identify Covid-positive case promptly and also to restrict transmission.
Omicron tally crosses 1,000: According to the latest data available from the Centre and the states in the night, the total number of Omicron cases in the country was around 1,200.
Nagaland logs 3 fresh Covid cases: Nagaland on Thursday recorded three fresh Covid-19 positive cases while no deaths were reported during the day.
The three cases were reported from Dimapur, pushing the total caseload to 32191.
The death toll remained unchanged at 702 (including 16 non-Covid deaths but with positivity).