New COVID Strain: MHA Issues Guidelines For States For Surveillance, Containment

Bhubaneswar: In the backdrop of detection of new COVID-19 strain in United Kingdom (UK), the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a fresh guideines for surveillance to remain in force up to December 31, 2020.

While there has been a continuous decline in the active and new COVID-19 cases, there is need to maintain surveillance, containment and caution, keeping in view the surge in cases globally, and emergence of a new variant of the virus in the United Kingdom (UK), an official notification read.

Accordingly, Containment Zones continue to be demarcated carefully; prescribed containment measures strictly followed within these zones; COVID-appropriate behaviour promoted and strictly enforced; and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) prescribed in respect of various permitted activities followed scrupulously.

Therefore, the focused approach on surveillance, containment and strict observance of the guidelines/ SOPs issued by MHA and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW), as envisaged in the Guidelines issued on November 25 need to be enforced strictly by States and UTs.

Meanwhile, 62 travellers, who returned to Odisha from the United Kingdom recently, have reportedly gone untraceable.

Dr. Niranjan Mishra, director Public Health (Odisha) on Monday said that around 181 travellers returned to the State from UK between November 30 and December 20, 2020.

Of the total returnees, 119 persons underwent the COVID-19 test in different phases and six of them tested positive for coronavirus.

(With PIB Inputs)