Amid the highly contagious Omicron variant of corona virus spreading in different states, there is threat in State too, as there has been a huge spike in corona cases in the past two weeks. Two week back the number of active corona cases was 89, which on December 29 it reached around 1000. The rise in cases has been reported from different districts. In the first week of December, in Koderma district there were no single cases of corona, but in the last three weeks there has been a rise in cases. The rise in cases is most in Ranchi and Koderma apart from Dhanbad and East Singhbhum reporting a surge in corona cases in December.

In the month of December 96 fresh cases were detected in Ranchi, while in Dhanbad and East Singhbhum 24 and 22 fresh cases were detected respectively. While, on one hand there has been a surge in active cases across the State, the worrying factor is the absence of genome sequencing labs (GSL) is hampering test of Omicron variant.

The samples of Covid positive persons were sent to Bhubaneswar for genome sequencing on November 28, but the report is yet to be received. Delay of report triggers speculation of coronavirus new variant Omicron. Sources said that the reason behind delay in getting the report is that samples from many states are sent to ISL Bhubaneswar for genome sequencing. Unless there is a Genome Sequencing Machine installed in the state, there is no way to solve this problem.

The Jharkhand High Court on several occasions has directed the State Government for purchase of Genome Sequencing Machine. The Health Department has been instructed to purchase the machine soon, but till now it has not been bought.

State Health minister Banna Gupta said that with the spread of corona cases in the State, the state has started preparations.

He said, “The state will soon get genome sequencing labs, the government has set up 60 Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generating plants, while the process of setting up 12 PSA plants is going on.” Gupta also said that across the state 28,600 beds have been identified to handle any emergency situation. In view of rising concerns over the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the Centre has decided to send special multi-disciplinary teams to 10 states and Union territories, which are either reporting a high number of infections from the new strain or have a low pace of the vaccination against coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The 10 states where the central multidisciplinary teams are to be deployed are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Mizoram, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Punjab. Sources said that it has also been observed that the pace of Covid-19 vaccination in these states is less than the national average, the team will aid the efforts of the state and district administration for management of Covid-19.