In the last 24 hours, India reported more than 96,982 new Covid-19 cases, informed the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday. Amid the surge in cases, demands have been made for opening the Covid-19 vaccinations for all age groups. However, the Union Health Ministry also stated on Tuesday that the aim of the vaccination drive is to administer the vaccines to those who need it and not to those who want it.
“Many people ask why we shouldn’t open vaccination for all. There are two aims of such vaccination drives—to prevent deaths and protect the healthcare system. The aim is not to administer the vaccine to those who want it but to those who need it,” said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan at a press conference.
This statement from the government comes after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to relax age restrictions on Covid vaccination.
While emphasising the fat that the next four weeks are “crucial” for India’s battle with the infection, the government is emphasising that people continue to follow Covid guidelines strictly, while the authorities speed up the strategy of ‘testing-tracing-treatment’, to curb the sudden surge in cases.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday pointed out lapses which are the reason behind the current spike in Covid cases, while reassuring that everything is still under control.
At a video conference with 11 state health ministers, the Union Health Minister highlighted, “All activities have been resumed. A casual approach emerged in society. Carelessness is a big factor,” while also noting, “It has come to our notice that the sudden increase in cases is largely or maybe event-driven, including grand weddings, local body election, farmers’ protest, etc.”
“It is a matter of concern for us… After one year of experience, we have gained knowledge but with time there are some lapses. I believe everything is still under control. If we implement our strategy properly which we followed earlier, then the number of new cases will drop,” he added.
“Despite the increasing cases, the fatality rate is at 1.30 percent in the country. Our recovery rate is 92.38 percent,” Vardhan informed.
However, he said that, with a positivity rate of 20 percent and growth rate of 8 percent, the worst-affected state right now is Chhattisgarh. “There has been a tenfold rise in cases. In Punjab, 80 percent of the UK variant cases have been found, which was confirmed by genome sequencing,” he said.
Punjab reported 2,924 fresh cases and 62 deaths on Tuesday, taking its active cases to 25,913. The state’s total tally stood at 2,57,057 with 7,216 people succumbing to the virus so far.
Maharashtra capital Mumbai also set a benchmark with 10,030 new coronavirus-positive cases and 31 deaths being recorded by Tuesday evening.
Karnataka reported 6,150 new cases in the past 24 hours, marking the state’s highest single-day spike in 2021. Bengaluru alone contributed 4,266 new cases. The state also reported 39 fatalities, taking its death toll to 12,696, while Bengaluru reported 26 deaths due to Covid-19.
On election day in Tamil Nadu, the state logged 3,645 fresh infections, pushing the caseload to 9,07,124, while the death toll rose to 12,804 with 15 more fatalities, as per its health department. According to the bulletin, recoveries mounted to 8,68,722 with 1,809 patients being discharged, leaving 25,598 active infections. Chennai accounted for most of the new infections with 1,303 cases, taking the aggregate to 2,56,359.
In Andhra Pradesh too, the upward spiral of Covid-19 cases continued as 1,941 new infections were recorded on Tuesday, which is the highest in close to five months, taking the gross to 9,10,943. The number of active cases in the state also shot past the 11,000-mark to reach 11,809, the highest count after November 28, 2020. A state health department bulletin also said that 835 patients had recovered, while seven more succumbed to the infection in the state in the 24-hour period ending on 9 am on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Rajasthan reported 2,236 new Covid-19 cases and 13 fatalities, taking the state’s case tally to 3,43,990 and death toll to 2,854. Five deaths were reported from Jodhpur, two each from Kota and Jhalawar, and one fatality each in Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Rajsamand and Udaipur, according to an official report.
With all these additional cases, the total number of Covid-19 cases in India has reached 1,26,86,049. With 446 new deaths, the total number of Covid-related deaths in the country has gone up to 1,65,547. There are 7,88,223 active cases across the nation right now. However, 50,143 people were also discharged after recovery on Monday, taking the nation’s recovery tally to 1,17,32,279.