New Delhi: Health authority Faridabad was alerted on 25/06/21 late night from state authority about a covid19 delta plus variant. This detection was a part of WGS (whole genomic sequencing) activity through specialized laboratories. The district health authority gathered preliminary information from ESIC Faridabad lab from where the samples were sent for WGS.
Civil Surgeons formed a rapid response team to start containment activity and to take immediate public health measures. The RRT team comprised of WHO surveillance officer, microbiologist, epidemiologist, Medical officer in charge of the concerned unit, laboratory technician, and Health Inspector under the guidance of District Surveillance officer on 26/06/21 afternoon.
The case is a 25 yr old person who worked as an IT expert in a government office in Delhi. He got symptomatic on 30/04/21, tested on 04/5/21 at a nearby Govt Hospital, and confirmed covid19 positive on 06/05/21. There was initial information given by case of attending a marriage at Delhi on 28/06/21. A day before he went to Delhi for official work through Metro rail. He kept himself isolated once he started having symptoms. He has a complaint of Fever for 3 days with body ache, anosmia, and cough which was lasted for about 10 days. He remained in home isolation and recovered in 14 days.
The RRT team started collected surveillance data from the case and gathered other relevant information.
The core area of responsibility:
- Contact tracing – 5 high-risk/ primary contacts were identified in the same household and detailed epidemiological history has been taken. None of the contacts became symptomatic during the active phase of the case and all of them tracked by the contact tracing team regularly. They were not tested for covid19 as none of them become symptomatic. Samples were collected from 4 primary contacts as one of them was not available by RRT members. The details of secondary contacts / low-risk contacts have been taken.
- Surveillance- a meeting was conducted at the concerned planning unit FRU-2 to start surveillance activities. The survey area identified and teams were formed accordingly for active surveillance. Passive surveillance has also been set up with the identification of health facilities.
- Testing –A strategy has been formulated to enhance testing in areas around and targeted areas identified i.e. local market, gathering area, and other major possible transmission points.
- Vaccination – A thorough and robust plan made to access the vaccination status of the affected area through House to House search of unvaccinated/partially vaccinated 18+ population and target them through specially organized vaccination camps to fully saturate the affected area.
- Implementation of CAB- strict compliance of covid appropriate behavior through IEC, non-pharmacological and administrative intervention through highest authority.
All planned up activities will be followed up closely through daily monitoring through the control room and will be personally supervised by Civil Surgeon Faridabad.