Dehradun: The district administration has gone on high alert after three new COVID-19 cases were detected in Dehradun. The cases involve individuals who recently arrived in Uttarakhand from Gujarat, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. The person from Mumbai has since returned, while the other two are in isolation—one at home and the other in hospital. Both are reported to be in stable condition.
In response, District Magistrate Savin Bansal convened a high-level meeting with senior health officials to assess the current preparedness. Emphasizing the need for continued vigilance, he instructed hospitals to be fully equipped with COVID beds, oxygen cylinders, ventilators, essential medicines, vaccines, and ICU facilities. Testing infrastructure, including TrueNat, antigen rapid tests, and RT-PCR, must also be fully operational.
The DM also directed the health department to:
Maintain readiness for any emergency.
Submit detailed reports on sampling teams, mobile testing units, control rooms, and ambulance availability.
Ensure proper isolation wards are identified and functional.
Submit all RT-PCR positive samples to Government Doon Medical College for Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), and update data on the IHIP portal under IDSP.
He urged the public to remain cautious, get tested promptly if symptoms appear, self-isolate when needed, and avoid crowded places.
Additional Chief Medical Officer Dr. CS Rawat confirmed the recent cases were identified at AIIMS Rishikesh and that no local transmission has been reported in the state so far. So far, 36 samples have been tested in Dehradun, with only the three returnees testing positive.
This precautionary stance comes amid rising cases in India and a resurgence of COVID-19 infections globally, including in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Officials present at the meeting included Deputy DM Hari Giri, ADMO Dr. V. Semwal, CMS SM Sankala, Chief Pharmacist RP Semwal, Dr. PS Rawat, Dr. MS Dogra, and other health department officers.
