The state health department will run special vaccination programmes on priority in localities that have seen a surge in Covid-19 cases recently, Health Secretary K..K Soan said on Wednesday while chairing a meeting with officials in Ranchi.

“We cannot deny the fact that timely vaccination is the only way to beat Covid-19. I, therefore, suggest that we hold vaccination drives on priority basis in localities where several cases of infection have been reported,” said Soan, adding that timely vaccination of people living in high-positivity areas will prevent further spread of the virus.

So far, the state has vaccinated over 14 lakh people. Even if special vaccination drives are run in high-positivity localities, only senior citizens and people above the age of 45 years will be eligible for jabs, health officials said.

During Wednesday's meeting, Soan also directed the district administration to deploy Covid testing squads at railway stations and bus stands in the state capital. Following the directive, Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Chhavi Ranjan organised Covid testing teams at ITI Bus Stand, Khadgada Bus Stand, Ranchi Railway Station and Hatia Railway Station. He also asked for loudspeakers to be installed for regular announcements related to Covid tests at these places.

Jharkhand has reported a significant rise in Covid cases during the past couple of weeks. As per government data, the active case load jumped from 450 on March 1 to over 2,250 on Tuesday in the state. Ranchi alone accounts for more than 1,200 active cases in Jharkhand.

Addressing the meeting, Soan directed officials to focus on contact tracing to ensure that asymptomatic carriers of the infection can be identified before they transmit the virus among people with weaker immune systems.

“Timely contact tracing of all infected people is the key to identifying new patients before they spread the virus in other places. We also need to maintain all records related to the travel history of Covid patients,” said Soan.

Ranchi deputy commssioner Ranjan, who attended the meeting, said that a report related to contact tracing of all Covid patients in the district will be submitted to the DSP City every day.

Soan also asked all the districts to hold meetings with private hospitals and ensure sufficient availability of beds for Covid patients. Later in the day, Ranjan asked officials to seek details about the availability of Covid beds in private hospitals and Covid care centres across the district.

Ranjan asked private labs to maintain records of people approaching them for Covid tests and ensure that they do not hide their identity.