Test-Track-Treat Protocol

In news : The Union Home Ministry issued Covid-19 guidelines and suggested to states to focus on Test-track-treat Protocol

About the new guidelines

• Union Home Ministry issued  guidelines for effective control of COVID-19” under Disaster Management Act, 2005, will be effective from April 1 to 30
• The main focus of the Guidelines is to consolidate the substantial gains achieved in containing the spread of COVID-19 in the past five months
• the guidelines mandate the State/ UT Governments to strictly enforce the Test- Track-Treat protocol in all parts of the country
• As per the new guidelines, there is no restriction on Inter-State and intra-State movement
• State/ UT Governments shall take all necessary measures to promote COVID-19 appropriate behaviour in work places and in public, especially in crowded places. 
• All State/ UT Governments should rapidly step up the pace of vaccination, to cover all priority groups in an expeditious manner.
• All activities have been permitted outside Containment Zones and SOPs have been prescribed for various activities. These include:  movement by passenger trains; air travel; metro trains; schools; higher educational institutions; hotels and restaurants; shopping malls, multiplexes and entertainment parks; yoga centres and gymnasiums; exhibitions, assemblies and congregations, etc.

About Test- Track-Treat protocol

• Increase  RT-PCR tests: States and UTs, where the proportion of RT-PCR tests is less, should rapidly increase it, to reach the prescribed level of 70 percent or more.
• Quarantine: The new positive cases, detected as a result of intensive testing, need to be isolated/ quarantined at the earliest and provided timely treatment.
• Trace contacts: Further as per the protocol, their contacts have to be traced at the earliest, and similarly isolated/ quarantined.
• Demarcate Containment Zones:Based on the positive cases and tracking of their contacts, Containment Zones shall be carefully demarcated by the district authorities, at the micro level, taking into consideration the guidelines prescribed by the MoHFWin this regard. 
• The list of Containment Zones will be notified on the websites by the respective District Collectors and by the States/ UTs. This list will also be shared with MoHFW on a regular basis.
• Containment measures: Within the demarcated Containment Zones, containment measures, as prescribed by MoHFW, shall be scrupulously followed, which include strict perimeter control, intensive house-to-house surveillance, contact tracing, surveillance for ILI/ SARI cases etc.
• Responsibility of  Authorities: Local district, police and municipal authorities shall be responsible to ensure that the prescribed Containment measures are strictly followed and State/ UT Governments shall ensure the accountability of the officers concerned in this regard.