Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, urging them to take steps to curb the spike in coronavirus cases.
These states are reporting an upsurge in the number of daily new cases in the recent days, and comprise 59% of the total active cases in the country. About 28.61 per cent cases are in Kerala, followed by 22.79 per cent in Maharashtra, 3.99 per cent in Chhattisgarh and 3.89 per cent in West Bengal.
These states have been advised to maintain strict vigil and to take steps to keep a check on the rising cases, especially in view of the new coronavirus strain observed in certain countries, which has also been reported in a few states in India.
The Health Secretary has drawn the attention of the states to their low and declining testing rates, stating that any laxity at this crucial junction may squander the results of collective actions in containing the transmission.
They have been advised to analyse the surge at the district and sub-district levels to understand the reasons for this rise and plan adequate measures proactively to curb the same.
Aggressively implementation of the ‹Test-Track-Treat» strategy adopted by the country has been strongly advised now more than ever by the Union Health Secretary.The health authorities in the states have also been advised to proactively promote wearing of mask and other Covid appropriate behaviors even while the vaccination drive is about to begin.
It is important to ensure that there is no complacency in the collective efforts in containment and management of Covid-19, the Health Secretary has strongly reiterated.The states have been assured of all necessary support of the Health Ministry required to manage the pandemic.In view of the above, a high-level central team led by Dr S.K. Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has been rushed by the Central government to Kerala. The team will review the public health interventions in management of Covid-19 by the state government and support the state health authorities in these measures.
The number of fresh Covid-19 cases in India increased by 20,346 since yesterday, indicating a 12% spike, to hit 1,03,95,278. Of these, a little over 2.8 lakh were active cases. The number of deaths in the past 24 hours increased by 222 to touch an overall 1,50,336.
Delhi recorded 486 fresh cases of Covid-19, while the death count reached 10,644 with 19 new fatalities on Thursday. The infection tally in the city stood at 6.28 lakh and the death toll mounted to 10,625. The active cases tally on Thursday dropped to 4,168 from 4,481 the previous day.
Maharashtra reported 3,729 new Covid-19 cases, including 3,350 discharges, and 72 deaths today. Total number of positive cases so far is 19,58,282 .18,56,109 have recovered from the virus while 49,897 succumbed to death. Total active cases is 51,111 in the state currently.
Odisha reported 230 Covid-19 cases, 230 discharges and one death on Thursday. The total count of cases stands at 3,31,151 and includes 3,27,008 recovered cases. The state had 2,202 active cases on Wednesday.
Tamil Nadu reported 805 new Covid-19 cases, including 911 discharges, and 12 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in the state stands at 8,23,986 with, 8,04,239 recoveries and 12,200 fatalities so far. Active cases in the state 7,547 now.
Manipur reported 47 new Covid-19 cases and 35 recoveries today. Total positive cases so far is 28,531 with, 27,677 recoveries and 364 fatalities. Active cases in the state is 490 now. The recovery rate hike upto 97.00 percent today.
Karnataka reported 761 new Covid-19 cases, including 812 discharges, and 7 deaths today. Total number of positive cases listed so far is 9,24,898 with, 9,03,629 discharges and 12,131 deaths. Active cases stand at 9,119 in the state now.Bihar›s Covid-19 tally mounted to 2,55,096 as 408 more people tested positive for the disease, while five fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,420. At least 424 people were cured of the disease in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,49,520. The recovery rate among coronavirus patients in the state currently stands at 97.81 percent. Bihar now has 4,156 active cases.
WITH INPUTS FROM AGENCIES
