After two Covid-19 deaths in Kadapa and Annamayya districts, the Andhra Pradesh government has issued a statewide preparedness alert. The health department has directed the authorities to strengthen surveillance, testing, hospital preparedness and reporting systems across the state.
The State Surveillance Unit (SSU) under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) has instructed all District Medical and Health Officers, District Surveillance Officers, government hospitals and medical colleges to remain on alert and immediately step up preparedness against any rise in infections.
The alert was issued after eight Covid-19 cases were detected following the death of two patients. According to the health officials, all eight patients are asymptomatic and are clinically stable.
In the wake of the rise in cases, the health department has instructed all Government General Hospitals to earmark dedicated 10-bed isolation wards.
Hospitals have been ordered to stockpile RT-PCR testing kits, Remdesivir, personal protective equipment (PPE), N95 masks, and other essential medical supplies.
The State Surveillance Officer has directed authorities to step up monitoring for Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) cases across both public and private healthcare facilities.
District officials have also been instructed to ensure the prompt collection and testing of samples from eligible ILI/SARI cases—following prevailing Union government guidelines—and to immediately report all laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases through the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) and other designated portals.
To reduce transmission risks, the government has instructed hospitals to “reinforce infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, including hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, environmental cleaning, and the appropriate use of personal protective equipment by healthcare workers.”
The advisory also mandates genomic surveillance wherever necessary.
“Ensure timely transportation of COVID-19 positive samples, wherever indicated, to designated laboratories for genomic surveillance as per Government of India guidelines,” the order said.
Following the two deaths, the Health Department constituted a Rapid Response Team to investigate the cases and established a COVID-19 control room to coordinate surveillance and response activities.
The order directs officials to “disseminate public health messages promoting respiratory hygiene, hand hygiene, and early reporting of symptoms, while avoiding unnecessary panic.”
The directive further instructs that any unusual spikes in infections, hospitalisations, or deaths must be reported to the State Surveillance Unit "immediately... without waiting for the routine reporting schedule."
Emphasising continued vigilance, the State Surveillance Officer concluded that “all districts shall ensure strict compliance with the above instructions and maintain a state of readiness to respond promptly to any public health event related to COVID-19.”
