Chhattisgarh Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo on Wednesday urged Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to initiate genome sequencing facility in the state at the earliest.
In the letter, Singh Deo said the new variant of Covid-19 had spread tentacles all over and Chhattisgarh was no exception.
Cases of Covid-19 infection are increasing day by day in the state and hence the facility of genome sequencing test is needed urgently, he said.
The Union government should take necessary steps so that the state can conduct the tests in Chhattisgarh itself, he said.
At present the state is sending swab samples to Bhubaneswar, causing unnecessary delay which is hindering the treatment of the virus.
“In the absence of genome sequencing reports, we are unaware as to which category of virus is in the patient. We are facing a problem in detecting the type of virus -- Omicron, Delta and any other variant. There is difficulty in planning a strategy," he said.