JAMSHEDPUR: With Omicron variant detected in the state, East Singhbhum health department has become more watchful.
The health officials regularly contact Tata Main Hospital (TMH) and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital (MGMMCH) to enquire about the lab test report of the samples sent by them for Genome Sequencing (GS).
The private-run Tata hospital and government-run MGM are the two healthcare centres that send samples for GS test. "Hospitals update the findings of the GS test report regularly on the dedicated portal. Now we are communicating with them on a daily basis to avert the possibility of any delay in communication," said additional chief medical officer Sahir Pall.
Noting that the district has not yet detected Omicron variant so far, the medical officer said the detection of the rapidly transmitting variant in Ranchi has made the local health administration to become more cautious.
Notably, 270 plus Covid samples have been sent to the Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar for GS test, so far. The growing caseload has driven health experts not to rule out Omicron in the near future.
"Compared to the high number of the cases being reported on a daily basis, count of samples sent for GS lab test are small. However, this doesn't rule out the possibility of the detection of Omicron variant in the coming days as the GS samples count increases," said Chairman of the Jharkhand Chapter of the Association of Physicians of India (API), Umesh Khan.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Jamshedpur Chapter, former secretary, Mrityunjay Kumar, said every person arriving to the district from other states should be examined for Covid without fail, it is likely that someone could be carrying Omicron variant.
"The district administration has done the right thing by increasing the testing of the commuters arriving at the railway station and bus terminus," he said.
On Monday, 120 passengers tested Covid positive at Tatanagar railway station, till the filing of the report.
"First time so many passengers tested positive at the station. All have been shifted to MGM medical hospital for further examination," said district health official, Tapan Mandal, overseeing testing at the railway station.
With 29 deaths, the district has reported 10,662 Covid cases between December 28 and January 16. Moreover, 3,533 recovered in the same period of time.
At present, 7,000 plus active cases are undergoing treatment. The total Covid count of the district has reached 62,918, including 54,676 recoveries, 1,090 deaths, till on Sunday.
The first Covid case was detected in the district on May 12, 2020, while first mortality was reported on July 4, in the same year.
