DELTA PLUS VARIANT: PUNJAB CM ORDERS EXTENSION OF COVID CURBS TILL JULY 10, BUT BARS/PUBS/AHATAS CAN OPEN AT 50%

 

CONCERNED OVER DELTA PLUS, PUNJAB CM ORDERS EXTENSION OF COVID CURBS TILL JULY 10, BUT BARS/PUBS/AHATAS CAN OPEN AT 50%

 

SKILL DEVELOPMENT CENTRES & UNIVERSITIES TO ALSO OPEN SUBJECT TO AT LEAST 1 DOSE FOR STUDENTS/STAFF

 

CM ORDERS FAST-TRACKING OF WHOLE GENOME SEQUENCING LAB AT PATIALA TO MAKE IT FUNCTIONAL BY JULY

 

Chandigarh, June 29

With cases of Delta Plus variant coming to light, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered extension of the Covid restrictions till July 10, with certain more relaxations, including opening of bars, pubs and ahatas at 50% capacity, beginning July 1.

 

Skill Development Centres and Universities have also been allowed to open conditional to the staff and students having taken at least one dose of vaccine. IELTS coaching institutes were already allowed to be opened, subject to students and staff having taken at least one dose of vaccine.

 

Announcing the relaxations at a high-level Covid review meeting, the Chief Minister made it clear that the bars, pubs and ahatas would have to strictly maintain social distancing protocols, and waiters/ servers/other employees should have taken at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. He made it clear that it would be the responsibility of the owners to ensure that the conditions are met.

 

Expressing satisfaction over the decline in positivity to less than 1%, with overall fall in active cases, the Chief Minister noted that the positivity rate in some districts still remained over 1%. Further, the finding of Delta plus variant was a matter of concern, making it essential to continue with the curbs, he stressed.

 

The month wise whole genome sequencing has shown that more than 90% is a variant of concern, with the original virus having been practically replaced by variants, disclosed the Chief Minister. Two cases (Ludhiana and Patiala) have shown Delta plus variant, while in May and June, the Delta variant was most prevalent, he pointed out.

 

Of the 198 contacts of the Ludhiana patient traced and tested, one was found positive and the sample has been sent for genome sequencing, while in the Patiala case, for which the genome sequencing report was received on June 26, the process of tracing/testing is going on. Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan disclosed that genome sampling of as many as 489 samples (including 276 sent in April, 100 in May and 113 in June were still pending with the central lab). She also clarified that the Delta plus variant was found in samples sent by the state govt in May, whose results were given by GOI labs recently.

 

Captain Amarinder ordered fast tracking of the establishment of a Whole Genome Sequencing Lab at GMCH Patiala, in association with the international non-profit organisation PATH, to make it operational by July. He also ordered intensification of genome sequences of cases reported from clusters in limited geographical, institutional or superspreader event area to check the spread of the potential third wave.

 

Health Minister Balbir Sidhu suggested a close watch on visitors from countries reporting Delta Plus variant cases.

 

Reviewing the preparations for what experts have predicted as an imminent third way, the Chief Minister directed the Health and Medical Education departments to scale up testing

Further from the current 40000 a day and contact tracing, currently at 22 per positive person, at not less than 15 per person. Underlining the need to continue with Corona Mukt Pendu Abhiyan in full force, he also directed organisation of outreach camps especially in villages for testing.

 

On the steps taken to reduce the turnaround time for testing, he stressed the need to proceed expeditiously with the proposal from PATH to support automation of the government lab at GMCH Patiala on a pilot basis, and equip it with barcode scanning so that data is automatically fed into the system.

 

Health department should continue to prioritise the Lok Sanjhedari model so that there is community ownership and a sustained campaign to observe Covid appropriate behaviour, said the Chief Minister. Health Secretary Hussan Lal, in a brief presentation earlier, said the department had formulated a comprehensive surveillance strategy to keep a check on the potential third wave drivers. These drivers include behavioural change after the 2nd wave, seasonal changes, re-infection due to waning of immunity and viral mutations.

 

The Chief Minister asked the department to work on restrictions computed on area basis (ward, village, block, town, city), going beyond the micro containment and containment strategies being followed so far.

 

Captain Amarinder asked the department to give appointment and postings, at the earliest, to the 128 specialist doctors recently selected by the Dr KK Talwar committee. Regular recruitment should also continue at all levels, he added. The Chief Minister noted that 77 PSA plants are in the process of being set up to meet requirement of oxygen in case of a sudden surge. The state also has over 6700 Oxygen concentrators, he added.

 

Medical Education & Research Minister OP Soni said 80% of the preparations needed to tackle the third wave were already completed in the Government Medical Colleges of the state.

 

Dr Talwar told the meeting that it was very difficult to predict the third wave due to mutation, with the Delta Plus variant already reported from 12 countries and 52 cases in Maharashtra. Urging extreme caution, he said it was necessary to see how the mutant behaves. As of now, the existing vaccines were showing effectiveness against the present variants, he said.

 

On the Black Fungus (Mucormycosis), the Chief Minister noted that Punjab has had much fewer cases than most other states, including Haryana, and Delhi, which not only saw more cases but more than three times the deaths in Punjab. The Chief Minister, however, said it was unfortunate that 51 people had died due to black fungus in the state.

 

 

 

AS PUNJAB AGAIN RUNS OF OUT VACCINE, CM ASKS CENTRE TO SEND MORE TO COVER ENTIRE ELIGIBLE POPULATION IN 2 MONTHS

 

ANNOUNCES OPENING OF VACCINE TO ENTIRE 18-45 POPULATION SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY

 

Chandigarh, June 29

With the state running out of Covishield vaccines today and a Covaxin stock of just 112821 doses, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has reiterated the demand for supply of more vaccines by the Centre to vaccinate the entire 18-45 population to complete the vaccination of all eligible persons in the next two months.

 

Even as he ordered opening of the vaccination to the entire population in 18-45 age group, subject to availability, the Chief Minister said the efforts would remain focused on covering the categories prioritised earlier. His government had set a target to immunise all eligible in two months, followed by the second vaccine dose as per schedule, he added. Currently, 4.8% of Punjab’s eligible population is fully vaccinated, with Mohali leading the chart in both one and two doses.

 

Taking stock of the vaccination progress and status in Punjab at a Covid review virtual meeting, the Chief Minister noted that the state government had already vaccinated more than 62 lakh eligible persons and had been utilising the stock without any wastage. However, he noted, that there is a gross shortage of vaccines, with no stock of Covishield in the state as of today, and only a small stock of Covaxin available.

 

Pointing out that the state had been repeatedly taking up the issue of inadequate doses with Government of India, Captain Amarinder said this has assumed critical importance as Punjab has slowly been opening up sectors conditional to stakeholders having taken at least one dose. He said he will take up the matter again with the Union Health Minister on urgent basis, and escalate it to the Prime Minister if needed.

 

Health Minister Balbir Sidhu questioned the larger number of doses received from the Centre by BJP-ruled states like Haryana and Gujarat.

 

Citing a Punjab Police study showing 98% protection among police personnel after two doses of vaccination, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday asked the Health and Medical Education departments to continue monitoring the vaccine efficacy in the light of the new variants of concern. So far, around 79000 Punjab Police personnel had been vaccinated, of which 57% had received the second dose. The study, conducted by Dr Rajesh Kumar, between February 3 to June 28, showed that of the total deaths in this period, 15 were of those not vaccinated at all, nine of those who had received one dose, and only two who were fully vaccinated, disclosed DGP Dinkar Gupta.

 

The Chief Minister also directed the concerned departments to drive a campaign to encourage vaccination, testing and help in case of micro-containment zones. These should be activated in all urban and rural areas, he stressed.