Today at 4:30pm, there will be a high-level meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to assess the readiness of public health in response to the increasing cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
As per the updated data from the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday, India has reported 1,134 new cases of infection, causing the number of active cases to surge to 7,026.
Five more deaths due to Covid were reported, pushing the overall death toll to 5,30,813. Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Kerala reported one death each, while one fatality was reconciled by Kerala. The daily positivity rate stood at 1.09%, while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.98%.
The Union heath ministry last week wrote to six states that were reporting a rise in Covid cases, suggesting that a possible localised spread of coronavirus could be causing the increase in cases.
“There are a few states which are reporting higher numbers of cases indicating possible localised spread of infection, and there is a need to follow a risk assessment based approach to prevent and contain the infection,” said Union health secretary, Rajesh Bhushan, in a letter to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
“It is essential that the state must maintain a strict watch and take pre-emptive action if required in any areas of concern to control emerging spread of infection,” Bhushan said.
