"The past week saw three deaths, primarily with serious complications in individuals with comorbidities or delayed diagnoses," Dr Selvavinayagam said.
Last week, the directorate recommended "purposeful testing" of Covid-19 cases instead of "targeted testing" of high-risk cases. The public health department has recommended RT-PCR tests for all people with fever, cough, sore throat, breathlessness, and respiratory symptoms. Besides this, close contacts of people testing positive - particularly, those above 60 years of age, individuals with comorbidities - must also be tested, he said.
With the new approach, the number of daily Covid-19 tests has nearly tripled, from 150 a week ago to around 500 on Monday. "But there is no drastic increase in the number of Covid-19 cases. Doctors are seeing a mix of infections like influenza (H1N1 and H3N2), dengue, typhoid, respiratory ailments, and even leptospirosis. "In some cases, individuals test positive for multiple infections, including Covid-19," he said, urging people to avoid self-medication. "Pandemic protocols such as washing hands with soap, wearing a mask, and maintaining social distance, especially in enclosed spaces must be followed."
State public health laboratory head Dr S Raju confirmed that Omicron and its sub-variants remain the primary cause of transmission. "This variant has shown remarkable longevity compared to others like Delta," he noted. "However, on the upside, it has generally been milder."
