Contact tracing continues to be a critical component to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic and ensure that the health infrastructure is not overwhelmed, said the Health Ministry on Friday.

It has advised State governments to adapt the best practices to suit the local context and replicate them for better management of the pandemic.

It said the lockdown provided breathing space for the government to ramp up testing facilities and the health infrastructure, which ensured improved recovery rate through timely detection and clinical management of cases. 

“Our rising case recovery rate is the result of the timely, graded, pre-emptive approach of the government to contain COVID19 and its implementation by countless frontline workers,” said the Ministry.

In the last 24 hours, 1,76,959 samples were tested. The total number of samples tested thus far was 64,26,627 according to the Indian Council of Medical Research on Friday.

Karnataka’s approach

Meanwhile, the Ministry has lauded Karnataka’s best practice for COVID-19 management, which it says includes comprehensive contact tracing of positive cases and physical/phone-based survey that has covered more than 1.5 crore households. 

“The two initiatives taken by the State Government are developed as part of the ‘Whole of Government’ approach, with the involvement of multi-sectoral agencies and supported by technology-based solutions and interventions. They effectively trace and track each case, thereby successfully containing the spread of the epidemic,” the Ministry said.

Karnataka has also widened the definition of ‘Contact’ to include both the high risk and low risk categories as defined by the Health Ministry.