NEW DELHI, Jan 6: The Centre has expressed concern over the decline in testing in Meghalaya where five Omicron cases were detected on January 4. It has asked the state to 
increase testing for checking the spread of the new COVID-19 variant.
Three of the five Omicron cases have recovered while one was sent back to Assam, her home state. All were returnees from other parts of the country.
On Thursday, the Centre asked Meghalaya and eight other states and Union Territories to ramp up COVID-19 testing. The other states and UTs are Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Arti Ahuja, the additional secretary of the Union Health Ministry said in a letter on Wednesday that the true level of infection spread in the community would be impossible to determine without adequate testing.
She pointed to a decline in testing in these states and UTs amid a rise in positivity rates and said it was a “cause for concern”.
“Keeping in mind the unpredictable and highly transmissible behaviour of Omicron and the larger preponderance of asymptomatic cases, 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.
She noted that the Omicron variant has led to an alarming rise in coronavirus cases in many countries even if they had high vaccination levels. “There is a need for continued vigil and efforts to prevent any deterioration of the COVID-19 scenario,” she said. Apart from sufficient testing, Ahuja advised the states and UTs to ensure sufficient stock of testing kits and adequate testing facilities.
India is witnessing an alarming rise in coronavirus cases in the past few days. Cases of the Omicron variant increased to 2,630 on Thursday from 2,135 a day ago. Omicron was first reported in the country on December 2 and has now spread to 26 states and UTs.
State logs 90 new cases
The state recorded 90 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday while no death was reported in the past 24 hours.
The active tally now stands at 212 while 83,324 people have recovered from the viral infection including 23 on the day. The death toll remains at 1,485.
Out of the new active cases, 70 cases were detected in East Khasi Hills district, nine in West Garo Hills district, five in West Jaintia Hills district and three each from Ri Bhoi and South West Khasi Hills.
A senior official informed that 50 percent of the new positive cases are high risk contacts.