Centre writes to five states over increase in Covid-19 cases, issues advisory

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, June 03, 2022: The Centre on Friday wrote to five states – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana – asking them to “maintain strict watch and take pre-emptive action” to control the spread of Covid-19. There has been an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases and positivity rate reported over the last one week, driven by an increase in these five states, said the letter written to these states by Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

 

The states have been asked to ensure Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, monitoring clusters of Covid-19 cases, adequate testing, monitoring cases of influenza like illnesses in health facilities, and genomic sequencing of samples from international travellers, from sentinel sites, and local clusters.

The number of Covid-19 cases reported across the country increased from 15,708 during the week ending on May 27 to 21,055 during the week ending on June 3. The positivity rate – proportion of samples tested that return positive – increased from 0.52% to 0.73% during the period.

“There are a few states which are reporting a higher contribution to India’s cases indicating the possibility of a localised spread of infection. There is, therefore, a need to follow risk-assessment-based approach on public health responses without losing gains made so far in the fight against the pandemic,” the letter read.

Kerala accounted for 31.14% of the new cases reported across India during the week ending on June 3, Maharashtra accounted for 23.19%, Karnataka 6.87%, Tamil Nadu 3.13%, and Telangana 1.78%, as per the letter.

The increase in Covid-19 cases has been seen in eleven districts of Kerala (Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Patthanamthitta, Idukki, Kollam, Kannur, Malappuram and Waynad), six districts of Maharashtra (Mumbai suburban, Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Raigad, and Palghar), Chennai and Chengalpattu districts of Tamil Nadu, and Bengaluru urban district of Karnataka.

There was a small surge in April as well, driven mainly by the increase in cases in Delhi and neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Courtesy: Indian Express