Amidst political crisis, Rajasthan chief secretary expresses concern over rising cases

NEW DELHI: Amid a political crisis in Rajasthan, its chief secretary has written to officers in the state expressing concern over increasing coronavirus cases and said the government machinery needs to work against the pandemic as it did earlier without complacency. Rajasthan has reported more than 25,000 Covid-19 cases.
Chief secretary Rajeev Swarup’s letter dated July 11, a copy of which was seen by ET, said chief minister Ashok Gehlot had directed that deaths due to the pandemic be minimised at any cost.

“Impact of Covid-19 is increasing in the country as well as the state. Though Rajasthan’s fight against the pandemic has been praise-worthy and among best in the country, with our mortality rate being low and recovery rate being the highest, the constant rise in coronavirus cases is an issue of concern. It is important in this situation that entire district administration and health department remains alert and works without any complacency like earlier,” said the letter.

Swarup outlined a 10-point guideline in his letter to ensure the objectives are met.

Rajasthan has conducted nearly 1.1 million tests and has a low mortality rate of 2%, with 521 deaths and a high 75% recovery rate. However, since July 5, the state has seen 500-plus cases daily.

The chief secretary directed in his letter that Covid-19 Care Groups in urban wards and villages be “reactivated”, along with 100% testing of those with influenza-like symptoms, immediate treatment of symptomatic cases and constant surveillance of asymptomatic patients.

“Active and passive surveillance in districts should be reassessed to make it stronger to break the chain of transmission. Random sampling should be done in areas where Covid-19 cases are low and screening done of pregnant women, patients with comorbidities and children below 10,” said the letter.

The chief secretary also ordered that the state’s Covid-19 management plan be activated in all districts without any complacency. On Tuesday, all ruling party MLAs from Rajasthan were lodged in hotels in either Jaipur or Gurgaon depending on their affiliation, as the Congress was divided between CM Ashok Gehlot and deputy CM Sachin Pilot’s camps.