Coronavirus: Centre sends teams to 6 states, including Maharashtra, Kerala
Taking cognizance of the COVID-19 situation in six states, the central government has decided to rush to the states to help local authorities in managing the situation. The six states include Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat. These states have witnessed a rise in COVID-19 infections and on Wednesday, they contributed to 86% of daily new infections across India.
Drop in testing, large gatherings may be leading surge
The three-member central teams—headed by joint secretary-level officers in the Health Ministry—are trying to ascertain the cause of the recent surge of infections in the aforementioned six states along with Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jammu and Kashmir. According to initial observations, large gatherings and a drop in overall testing could be behind the rising number of cases.
'States/UTs advised to maintain continued rigorous vigil'
The Union Health Ministry said in a statement, "States or union territories have been advised to maintain a continued rigorous vigil for containing the spread of COVID-19 such the gains of collective efforts are not squandered away." "Need for effective testing, comprehensive tracking, prompt isolation of positive cases, and quick quarantine of close contacts are strongly emphasized," the Ministry added.
'Maharashtra alone accounted for weekly increase of 16,012 infections'
On Wednesday morning, out of the 14,989 new cases reported by the Union Health Ministry, Maharashtra reported 7,863 new cases, followed by Kerala (2,938) and Punjab (729). On a week-on-week basis, Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, and Karnataka have shown the maximum increase in new cases, the Ministry said Wednesday. "Maharashtra alone accounted for a weekly increase of 16,012 cases," it added.
Nearly 10,000 fresh cases in Maharashtra, shows latest update
As per the latest state bulletins, released Wednesday evening, Maharashtra reported 9,855 fresh infections, followed by Kerala (2,765 new cases), Punjab (778), Karnataka (528), Tamil Nadu (489), and Gujarat (475). These accounted for over 85% of fresh infections across India on the day.
11.15 million cases reported across India; 97% recovered
As of Thursday morning, India reported a total of 1,11,56,923 COVID-19 cases, including 1,57,435 deaths, 1,73,413 active cases, and 1,08,26,075 recoveries, Health Ministry's data showed. 17,407 new infections and 89 fresh fatalities were reported over a single day. Meanwhile, 1,66,16,048 people have been vaccinated across India since the country launched its nationwide vaccination drive on January 16, 2021.
