Ranchi, Dec 30 (PTI) Amid rising cases of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus in the country, the Jharkhand government has asked deputy commissioners of all the districts to remain vigilant and ensure that COVID protocols are followed, an official said on Thursday.

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The authorities have also asked them to adopt a strategy of "test-track-isolate-treat-vaccinate" to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the state, he said.

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Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Arun Kumar Singh said in a letter to deputy commissioners that all eligible beneficiaries must be inoculated by January 15.

A continuous surge in the number of Omicron cases has been observed in the country, and the new variant of coronavirus has more transmissibility, he said.

"There is increased likelihood of its rapid propagation in the community," he said in the letter.

At least 961 Omicron cases have been detected across 22 states and UTs so far, and 320 people have recovered or migrated, according to the Union health ministry data.

Singh said there is a continuous surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state with a rise in new infections in some of the districts, especially Koderma, Ranchi and Dhanbad, resulting in an increased positivity rate in the last four weeks.

The state recorded 344 fresh cases on Wednesday.

Ranchi reported the highest number of new cases at 118, followed by Koderma at 56 and East Singhbhum at 43.

"The number of cases reported this week has jumped by approximately three times as compared to last week," the letter said.

Jharkhand now has 608 active cases.

Therefore, there is "an urgent need for the districts to consider strict COVID management and control measures in surge areas" to bring the situation under control, the official said.

"Influx of people from high positivity/high burden/high prevalence country or states may pose a risk of increase in the COVID-19 infection in our state," Singh said.

He directed officials to focus on "early case detection, effective management and contact tracing" to prevent any further spread of the disease.

"In order to curb the infection, districts can plan for mass testing drive in high positivity cities/blocks/areas to find out the residual cases for early case management," he said in the letter.

Singh also emphasised on the need for increasing the number of tests across all entry points or check posts of districts with adequate logistics facilities.

"Testing must increase and should be strategic rather than randomised," the official said.

Singh also directed officials to ensure that all COVID-19 patients should be thoroughly asked about travel history and their movement, as part of the effective contact tracing.

He urged them to make sure that "all possible contacts of positive persons must be tested within 24 hours" and to keep constant monitoring on international passengers and people coming from Omicron-affected states.

"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..., Singh added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)