Chhattisgarh health minister requests Centre to start genome sequencing facility in state

In view of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh, state Health Minister T S Singh Deo on Wednesday requested Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to start a genome sequencing facility in the state soon.On Tuesday, Chhattisgarh witnessed a massive spike in daily COVID-19 cases with 1,059 people testing positive for the infection, taking its overall tally to 10,10,513, while the death toll reached 13,604 after three more patients succumbed, as per official data.

In view of a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in Chhattisgarh, state Health Minister T S Singh Deo on Wednesday requested Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to start a genome sequencing facility in the state soon.

On Tuesday, Chhattisgarh witnessed a massive spike in daily COVID-19 cases with 1,059 people testing positive for the infection, taking its overall tally to 10,10,513, while the death toll reached 13,604 after three more patients succumbed, as per official data. So far, no case of new Omicron variant has been detected in the state.

In a letter written to Mandaviya, Singh Deo said genome sequencing facility is not available in the state at present, and samples are being sent to Bhubaneswar in neighbouring Odisha for the test, which is a time-consuming process.

“Due to the slow pace of testing, we are not able to know which variant of coronavirus- Omicron, Delta or any other - has been spreading in the state. As a result, we are facing difficulties in taking important decisions pertaining to prevention, treatment and screening of the infection and making strategic preparations to deal with the situation,” the minister said.

Since Chhattisgarh is surrounded by several states, it has been witnessing a rise in cases of the viral infection, he added.

He further requested the Union minister to issue a directive soon to start a genome sequencing facility at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur, considering the COVID-19 situation in the state.

He also sought necessary financial and technical support from the Union Health Ministry to start a similar facility at the Government Medical College in the state capital Raipur.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)