Activate war rooms, implement night curfews if needed: Centre on Omicron

New Delhi : Issuing a warning to states, the Centre claimed that the Omicron variant of coronavirus is three times more transmissible than the Delta variant. It also said that strict restrictions must be imposed in districts with high positivity rate.

Activating war rooms, implementation of night curfew are among a couple of suggestions given by the Centre to the states, also asking them to keep a track on the surge of cases for actively stopping the transmission.

The direction by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan came on a day when India’s cumulative tally of Omicron cases touched the 200 mark. According to official data, seven states in the country are now reporting Omicron cases in double digits — Maharashtra (54), Delhi (54), Telangana (20), Karnataka (19), Rajasthan (18), Kerala (15) and Gujarat (14).

"At the district level, there should be a constant review of emerging data regarding the population affected by Covid-19, geographical spread, hospital infrastructure and its utilisation, manpower, notifying containment zones, enforcement of perimeter of containment zones. This evidence should be the basis for effective decision making at the district level itself. Such a strategy ensures that infection is contained at the local level itself before it spreads to other parts of the state," Bhushan wrote.

The Centre has advised district level containment measures and restrictions if the positivity rate goes above 10 per cent. However, “based on the local situation” and “population characteristics such as density, and keeping in mind the higher transmissibility of Omicron”, states can enforce restrictions even before they report these numbers.

The states have also been asked to amplify vaccinations.